Baciwa eyes NGC vicinity for new building
BACOLOD CITY – Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) is planning to construct a new building for their office at the site where the New Government Center (NGC) is located.
Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he received a letter from the local water district requesting for a space in the area along Circumferential Road.
Leonardia said they cannot give a big space as per request of Baciwa management since the 5-hectare donated property for the NGC has remaining 1.5 hectares which is not fit anymore for Baciwa.
“They asked for half of it that’s why I think it is very impossible for the city to grant their request unless they will construct a building that would require small space,” he added.
Meanwhile, Leonardia is against Baciwa's plan to increase their water rate.
He said it is very untimely as of now since the world is experiencing economic crisis.
Baciwa has proposed 30 percent increase in water rate for residential consumers in order to sustain its operations. It plans to implement the increase on July 15.
General Manager Juliana Carbon said they are allowed an increase of 60 percent, but have settled for only 30 percent. She said they have proposed a rate increase for eight years but the Local Water Utilities Administration usually approves only three years.
“It will go through the process required by law and by the LWUA. One requirement is the conduct of a public hearing scheduled on June 9 from 3-5 p.m. at the Negros Occidental Multi Purpose Gym,” she said.
Carbon said this will also go through the board of directors and the Water Rates Evaluation Division of LWUA which will determine if the proposed rates increase is justifiable, adequate, affordable and equitable.
They will only implement the increase after it has been approved by LWUA.
Other factors contributed to the plan are the two salary increases mandated by government, the prices of fuel and power have also increased, and they started to pay their amortization with LWUA last year.
“If we cannot sustain it from the present rates we need to adjust our water rates to be able to cope,” Carbon said.
She also said most of their water system is deepwells, some are 19 years old and need to be rehabilitated or replaced with new ones to be able to provide water.
These require funds and could not be sustained by the present water rates, Carbon said. They also need to tap surface water to prepare for the demand in the future, she said.
“If we have excess revenues from the water rates we can put up a building since the present facility is 37 years old and it is already very inconvenient for the paying consumers,” Carbon said.