Metro Iloilo Water District: Through the years of service and commitment
Metro Iloilo Water District is one waterworks that has undergone several evolutions since its birth in 1926 until the 1970s. The system was managed and controlled by different administration, namely the Iloilo Metropolitan Waterworks (IMWW), the National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA), and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewrage System (MWSS) until it was placed under the control of Metro Iloilo Water District.
Photo shows the location map of the Iloilo City
service area.
On September 18, 1978, there was a simultaneous turnover of the water system from the MWSS to the city government, pursuant to P.D. 1405 and from the city government to the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) in accordance with the provisions of P.D. 198.
Subsequently, on January 12, 1979, the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) issued MIWD its Conditional Certificate of Conformance with No. 071.
The ten-year development program
1978 may be considered as the turning point for the water system in Iloilo. With assistance from the LWUA, MIWD was able to undergo institutional development in all systems of operation. Improvement projects were undertaken to meet the rising water demand of the consuming public.
In 1986, MIWD embarked on its very first major improvement for the water system after several decades of hiatus of the past waterworks administration. The Phase I-A Immediate Improvement Project was completed with the construction of four deep-well pump stations and one central chlorine station and storage in Barangays Jibao-an, Pavia and San Jose, San Miguel and the installation of 20-kilometer transmission and distribution lines. The project involved, too, the construction of a 568- cubicmeter elevated tank and the installation of 16 fire hydrants.
From 1994 onward, MIWD was able to accomplish its expansion programs that included the 76-kilometer pipe laying under Phase I-B improvement project and the installation of four production wells in Oton, Iloilo that augmented the supply for the city of Iloilo and the municipality.
MIWD Costumer Service Assistant attends to the
applicants for water service connection.
Significantly, it was able to improve, too, the quality and quantity of water with the construction of a water treatment plant at the reservoir in Santa Barbara, Iloilo, the installation of additional pipelines from Maasin to Iloilo City and the improvement of the Maasin dam under its Phase I Comprehensive Water Supply Improvement Project funded under the ADB program.
With the completion of this treatment plant, water supply in Iloilo has now undergone complete treatment for surface water source and is expected to meet the 633 liters per second projected demand of the District for the coming years.
The rehabilitation program
At present, MIWD undertakes the water supply system improvement and expansion project which is financed through the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA)-Asian Development Bank (ADB) - assisted Small Towns Water Supply Sector Program. The undertaking is geared towards the improvement of the existing water supply system of MIWD covering the municipalities of Maasin, Cabatuan, Santa Barbara, Pavia, Oton, San Miguel and the city of Iloilo encompassing the five districts and the City Proper, and the expansion of the system to the municipality of Leganes. The system will undergo whole scale improvement through the rehabilitation of existing water supply facilities to ensure that consumers can enjoy a more effective and sufficient water service.
Financed at a total project cost of P207, 603.00 million, its major components include, among others, the rehabilitation of wells, provision of electro-mechanical equipment, refurbishing of pump stations, construction of treatment facilities, laying of transmission and distribution pipelines and installation of service connections.
The project intends, too, to reduce non-revenue water as well as the operation and maintenance costs of the District, and improve the quality of water supply, particularly for Maasin, Cabatuan and Oton, at the same time, improve the level of service by providing adequate system pressure.
The search for efficiency, however, does not end with the completion of this project. Still, MIWD is doing a continuous research for additional water sources beyond that will possibly reach as far as Jalaur River.
Customer Care
MIWD, at present, serves a total of 22, 902 household consumers. Considered as the lifeblood of the Water District, MIWD sees to it that these consumers are properly attended to and taken cared of. Policies are customer-friendly and all kinds of complaints are immediately acted upon wherein both solutions are seen to be beneficial to both parties.
The never-ending quest for excellence
Twenty eight years after, MIWD has changed the course of the water system in Metro Iloilo. The change may be gradual but MIWD is doing all its best in tapping all its means and resources in order to meet the demands of its public and the needs of the community its serves. Amidst the odds, it strives to continue improving the system that it may be able to respond to the development of Iloilo City and the Iloilo province as well.
The task that lies ahead poses a formidable challenge for MIWD. Undauntedly, however, the Water District is wont to finish what it has started. It knows it owes a lot to the public it serves. Cognizant of its basic responsibility of supplying potable and adequate water to all its consumers, it continues to tap all possible sources at any cost in order to live up to the expectations of the public and the mandate of its goals and objectives.
True to its vision, MIWD continues to work its way to be the premiere water utility in the region committed to provide quality, sufficient and affordable water supply and sewerage system through honest and excellent service.