By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos
MANILA – The Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) is now looking into the local water districts’ (LWDs) reports on water supply issues concerning both private and public schools, its administrator said on Friday.
“Actually, lahat po (all of them) – 532 water districts – pinadalhan namin ng (were sent) memorandum circular with an attached form to report all issues regarding water supply sa kanilang (in their) water districts. This covers both private and public schools. We are now processing all of those reports,” LWUA Administrator Jose Moises Salonga told Palace reporters.
Salonga said the evaluation of the LWDs’ reports will be completed either by June 16 or 17.
Malacañang on Tuesday announced that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had directed LWUA to conduct an immediate investigation into the lack of stable water supply in public schools he inspected in Malolos and San Miguel towns in Bulacan.
Salonga said the water problem in two schools at Santisima Trinidad and Barihan villages in Malolos, Bulacan has already been addressed.
“Ang ginawa po namin ay nagpadala na po kami mga tao doon at kinumpuni, inayos at today, ang promise kasi is (What we did was we sent people there and repaired it, fixed it) because the promise is to [finish it] by Monday. And today we’re happy to report na may tubig na po doon sa dalawang schools na iyon, operational na po (that there is water in those two schools, it’s operational),” he said.
PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. earlier pledged to begin the repair works in the two affected villages in Malolos.
For the Tibagan Elementary School in San Miguel town, Salonga said the San Miguel Water District and Pamana Water Corporation are coordinating with the school principal for the interconnection of the school to the water supply service.
“Ang issue naman po doon is hindi siya konektado sa main distribution line ng water district. Apparently, nasa isang deep well na po na over saturated na ang demand (The issue here is that it is not connected to the main distribution line of the water district. Apparently, it is in a deep well with an over-saturated demand),” he said.
“Right now, kinukumpuni para malagay na mismo sa distribution line ng water district to ensure that there is enough pressure for water to flow effectively para naman sa tamang sanitation saka needs ng mga estudyante (it is being repaired so that it can be placed directly in the distribution line of the water district to ensure that there is enough pressure for water to flow effectively and for proper sanitation and the needs of the students),” Salonga added.
Salonga said LWUA is also in the process of completing its investigation into the concerns and complaints over PrimeWater services.
He said the findings of the investigation will be submitted to Marcos.
“We will be asking for a schedule with the President. And once it’s done, I will report,” Salonga said. “So, after we present, we will address it in two ways: A short-term solution and a long-term systemic solution regarding this matter.”
In addition to the water supply challenges in schools, Salonga said the LWUA has coordinated with the Dumaguete City Water District to address a similar issue in Siquijor province.
Salong said a generator set will be deployed to Siqujor to help augment the province’s water relief operations.
“A lot of people don’t know that most of the time, ‘yung (the) water situation is dependent on the power situation. Water pumps are run by electricity,” he said.
“So, once nawawalan ng kuryente (there is no power supply), there maybe a lack of capacity to pump water in that distribution network. That’s why one of our solutions is to ask for a genset to be provided there dedicated to water operations,” Salonga added. (PNA)
