RDC committee to look into city's water problem
The infrastructure committee of the Regional Development Council (RDC) has created a sub-committee to look into the problem on water supply in Iloilo City.
Mayor Jerry Treñas, RDC's head of infrastructure committee, said a sub-committee headed by Community and Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) chief Engr. Noel Hechanova was created to look into the factors affecting the city's water supply.
The other member of the sub-committee is Bernabe Garnace of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The sub-committee was created even if the management of water utility Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) has already assured Mayor Treñas of the full resumption of the water supply in their franchise areas on December 11, 2008.
Enough water supply and electricity are among the basic needs considered by prospective investors in the city. In previous years, there was a plan to privatize the MIWD but since then nothing was heard about the proposal.
The MIWD franchise areas, which include Iloilo City, are affected by the water scheduling being implemented for the past months. The lack of water supply coming from the water district has been the subject of complaints from its thousands of consumers.
Initially, the MIWD management said the unclean water coming from the source up to its water catchments basin has affected the water supply in all the franchise areas.
The MIWD has installed some 30,000 water connections in its franchise areas. The committee wants to know on how many water connections are installed in Iloilo City alone, said Treñas.
MIWD also supplies water in the city's neighboring towns of Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan and Oton.
The stretch of hotels in General Luna, City Proper has to source out their water needs from other water delivery stations to address the needs of their guests.
Aside from the hotels, the most affected barangays in the city that have poor water supply from the MIWD are the waterfront barangays at the City Proper. The MIWD has to deliver two water tanks in waterfront barangays such as Concepcion, Duran, and Sto. Rosario among others.