DAVAO CITY, Philippines – With 60 of the 82 barangays in District 3 in the city without potable water supply, a city councilor has been eyeing to pass an ordinance that will establish a water center to monitor water sources, test, and study the quality of water the city will provide to the public.
Councilor Alberto Ungab said the city government does not have an office that focuses on water monitoring and research.
He said testing and identifying the quality of water in specific areas take a lengthy process as water samples need to be sent to Manila to undergo such procedure which contributes to the delay in providing a potable water source to these communities.
“At the moment, we do not have periodic testing on the water supply in the community to prevent diseases,” Ungab said during an interview with him at Katikaran sa Konseho on February 18.
Ungab also said that the city government cannot also rely on the Davao City Water District (DCWD) when it comes to water laboratory facilities because it is privately-owned.
The water center will be a local version of the Department of Water Resources (DWR) created in the House of Representatives in November last year which is the primary national agency responsible for the comprehensive and integrated planning, policymaking, and management of water resources in the country.
Under his proposal, the water center will be created as a separate department under the office of the City Mayor.
In September 2020, Ungab had already passed a resolution under suspended rules requesting the DCWD and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to establish potable water sources in those 60 barangays.
In his resolution, Ungab identified the areas in Daliaon cluster and barangays of CarCaTaBaWi (Carmen, Cadalian, Tawan-tawan, Baguio Proper, and Wines) stretch and the neighboring barangays of Malagos and Gumalang, all in Baguio District have no potable water sources despite the presence of the treatment plant and reservoir of DCWD in Barangay Malagos. (davaotoday.com)
