MCWD braces for El Niño, looking for water sources

As the country prepares for the possibility of the El Niño phenomenon occurring at the end of 2018, the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) has bared its sourcing plans to minimize the growing gap between the supply and demand in Metro Cebu.

"As Central Visayas braces for the El Niño phenomenon at the end of this year, we are urging all water consumers to use only what they need during the critical times,” said MCWD General Manager Jose Eugenio Singson Jr. in a statement.

Singson is likewise urging the local government units (LGU) in its service area to enact ordinances encouraging water conservation among their constituents during the coming critical months and providing appropriate tax breaks or refunds on establishments that reuse and recycle wastewater.

"Conservation and recycling will help ensure our supply will be enough until the rains come back," Singson said.

MCWD, the largest water supplier in Metro Cebu, currently serves only 42 percent of the water demand in four major cities and four municipalities — some of which have residents experiencing less than 24 hours of supply.

The current demand of Metro Cebu’s over one million population is now at 400,000 cubic meters (cu. m.) per day and MCWD is currently producing only about 234,000 cu. m., sourced mostly from groundwater wells and bulk water supply from private suppliers.

“We may not be able to close the gap between the supply and demand as fast as we wish to but we are heading towards that direction. Metro Cebu’s fast economic development is a blessing but the increase of the water requirements at an unprecedented speed is an ongoing challenge for the water district,” Singson added.

MCWD’s additional supply under its 2019 Corporate Plan will come from one bulk water supply agreement and groundwater wells developed in-house on properties acquired by MCWD or those inside subdivision or some on governmentowned lots.

The statement added that Danao City’s 20,000 cu. m. per day-bulk supply is scheduled to begin in 2019 with an initial delivery of 10,000 cu. m. per day to serve MCWD’s consumers in Compostela, Liloan, Consolacion, parts of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.

Danao City’s project has encountered several setbacks but works on its intake facility in Tangon River, the laying of distribution pipes and construction of a water treatment plant, were in full swing as of June 2018 when the LGU invited MCWD representatives for an ocular inspection and project updates.

MCWD is also looking at an additional 19,000 cu. m. per day from wells lying on properties to be procured or leased by MCWD or some will be donated to the water district.

MCWD is also discussing with private lot owners, subdivision developers and local government units for about 16 additional wells in different areas in Metro Cebu.

This is to augment the supply deficit and address the effects of the El Niño phenomenon in central and south Cebu.

The statement further said that the El Niño phenomenon is expected to affect MCWD’s surface water sources in Jaclupan, Talisay City and the 104-year-old Buhisan Dam in Cebu City, which rely on the supply of springs and rivers in the Mananga Watershed and Buhisan Watersheds, respectively.

Both have a total daily capacity of 40,000 cu. m.

To recall, when the worst effects of the El Niño phenomenon were felt in 2016, MCWD lost close to 24,000 cu. m. of its daily supply due to the prolonged absence of rain and the steady evaporation of water from its surface water sources, worsened by a very high demand from consumers when humidity levels continued to rise.