• YASMIN PASCUAL-DORMIDO
In its aim to provide additional water supply in Bacolod City, PrimeWater Bacolod and its joint venture partner, Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA), signed a bulk water supply agreement with Northern Negros H2O Inc., Tuesday, October 3.
Atty. Lorendo Dilag, Chairman of the BACIWA Board of Directors said, the signing of the bulk water supply agreement will address the increasing demand in the city “by bringing in significant additional water supply of 30,000 cubic meters or 30 million liters per day (MLD) on the first year, 40 MLD on the second year, and 50 MLD on the third year upon completion.” Dilag added that the additional supply will cover more than 30,000 households in the city, particularly in the south such as Handumanan, Felisa, Mansilingan, Cabug, Tangub, Taculing, Pahanocoy, Pta. Taytay, Sum-ag, and Alijis. This, according to him, means more available water for customers.
“This volume of water added to our present 68 MLD a day, I think will be very sufficient for Bacolod to have potable water supply,” he stressed.
Mona Dia Jardin, General Manager of BACIWA stressed that the project is part of the water district’s resolve to address the growing demand in the city wherein they need an additional 15-20 MLD per day.
The press release from PrimeWater stated that as part of the agreement, more than 20 kilometers of pipeline as well as new water treatment plant facility and storage tanks will be constructed as receiving facilities to enable the operation of the incoming supply of surface water. The bulk water project targets to tap the Sum-ag River.
“We shifted from the deep wells to surface water sources. This really is an effort of PrimeWater. PrimeWater really looked for additional water sources for Bacolod to address our need for additional water sources. Apart from the increased water supply, this project will also significantly improve water quality,” said Jardin.
Moreover, upon completion, the development will potentially boost the city’s economy as it will improve productivity and may later open potential economic opportunities according to PrimeWater Bacolod.
“This initiative strengthens our commitment to our service in the city, among the series of efforts that BACIWA-PrimeWater partnership has planned to serve our concessionaires in Bacolod,” said Atty. Cezar Ong, PrimeWater Vice President for joint venture operations.
PrimeWater-Bacolod and BACIWA partnership has implemented water innovation initiatives since their partnership in 2020. Continuous maintenance activities such as pipeline cleaning, leak detection, and repairs, well maintenance, reservoir and tank cleaning, as well as flushing are among measures being done regularly to ensure that water is sustainably managed in the city.*
