Davao water district hit over unstable supply

• • DCWD’s customers in northern parts of the city have been suffering water outages since 2016

  • Water quality also a concern, but the utility firm insists they comply with national standards

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Councilors here hit anew utility firm Davao City Water District (DCWD) for its alleged failure to address the water supply shortage felt by its customers in the northern part of the city.

“We have been discussing this long, long, long time ago. You keep on coming to the council every now and then to explain all these things. It’s unfortunate that you keep on promising us here for many times,” Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang said during the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s session on Tuesday, Aug. 29.

Water shortage

Northern parts of Davao: Cabantian, Indangan, Communal, and other neighboring areas have been suffering intermittent water supply since last year due to the lack of water resources.

“Where is really the problem? Tell us honestly,” said Dayanghirang.

He urged DCWD to strictly follow their timeline and explain the situation to the public.

This is not the first time Dayanghirang has lambasted the state-owned utility company. In January, he suggested that its customers should get a refund as “services are not given to us.”

DCWD: mitigating measures in place

DCWD has been experiencing troubles in providing service to its customers due to several factors, among them include the recurring power outages in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) transmission line, and the imbalance between the demand and supply of water

Edwin Regalado, DCWD general manager, said three of the four mitigating measures created by the office have already been completed, one is said to be finished in December.

Based on DCWD’s report, around 2,000 of the 9,000 active service connections in the said areas receive intermittent water supply.

Regalado said construction of the Dumoy water supply system for Cabantian residents is 49% complete. It aims to complete two water wells for the said area by the end of this year.

Poor water quality

Second district councilor Al Ryan Alejandre, also a resident from Cabantian, also questioned the color and quality of the water.

DCWD, however, said that despite that, it has passed national standards.

“Mitigating measures like regular flashing and disinfecting our lines are being done. We assure the public that the water is microbiologically safe and our records are open to the committee on health chair,” said Hydie R. Maspiña, DCWD’s water quality division manager. (davaotoday.com)