Bohol’s development council lays out water system master plan

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines – Bohol’s Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) has presented to the Provincial Development Council the water and sanitation project (BWSP) of the province, or the water system master plan.

PPDO head John Titus Vistal said the design of the BWSP consists of two phases: 1) the bulk water supply; and 2) water distribution and sewerage or sanitation systems.

The BWSP’s service area covers Tagbilaran City and 17 towns: Alburquerque, Antequera, Baclayon, Balilihan, Catigbian, Dauis, Lila, Loay, Loboc, Loon, Maribojoc, Panglao, San Isidro, Sevilla, Cortes, Corella, and Sikatuna.

In presenting an update of Bohol’s development framework during the recent PDC’s full council meeting, Vistal enumerated three water sources initially identified for development which are the Abatan River, the Loboc River, and the Bugwak Spring.

Vistal said that “based on the Bohol Integrated Water Supply System Master Plan (2010-2035), there are seven recommended clusters or schemes for bulk water supply or Phase 1:

1) Abatan River Cluster will be tapped for an average daily production of 10,179 cubic meters of water for the benefit of about 70,200 population in eight towns: Antequera, Balilihan, Catigbian, Corella, Maribojoc, Sagbayan, San Isidro, and Sikatuna;

2) Loboc 1 River Cluster—projected to produce an average daily output of 61,309 cubic meters, for 237,400 population—covers Tagbilaran City and nine towns: Alburquerque, Baclayon, Dauis, Dimiao, Lila, Loay, Loboc, Panglao, and Valencia;

3) Loboc 2 River Cluster—projected to produce an average daily output of 19,612 cubic meters for about 124,000 population—covers Batuan, Bilar, Carmen, Dagohoy, Pilar, Sevilla, and Sierra-Bullones towns;

4) Manaba River Cluster, covering the towns of Anda, Candijay, Duero, Garcia-Hernandez, Guindulman, and Jagna; is projected to have an average daily production of 18,418 cubic meters for about 114,400 population;

5) Carood River Cluster, covering Alicia, Danao, Mabini, San Miguel, and Ubay towns, will produce an average daily output of 24,534 cubic meters for about 147,500 population;

6) Ipil River Cluster, covering Bien Unido, Buenavista, Getafe, Talibon and Trinidad, will have an average daily production of 29,958 cubic meters for about 177,700 population; and

7) Inabanga River Cluster—having a projected average daily output of 44,335 cubic meters—will benefit about 207,400 population in the towns of Inabanga, Clarin, Tubigon, Calape, and Loon.

Asia Foundation provided funds and technical assistance in the feasibility study for the BWSP, through Advancing Philippine Competitiveness (COMPETE) Project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), according to PPDO.

The output is labeled as the Supply System Master Plan 2010-2035, designed as a public-private partnership project intended “to provide an efficient urban water supply and sanitation system for the western part of Bohol.

The feasibility study however states that “groundwater resources, through wells and springs, in the area are observed to be limited and insufficient to meet the current water demand, let alone the large future demand.”

To address this, the Bohol provincial government will tap “the extensive surface water resources in the area through a bulk water supply project that will feed treated water to the individual water service providers in the 15 local government units.”

“There is a also a need to improve the distribution of water to the consumers-–residential, commercial, industrial and institutional—by the different water providers in terms of water quality, volume, service reliability, and affordability.

It is likewise necessary for these providers to set up an effective sanitation or wastewater disposal system in the Service Area,” according to the study.

Also through the Philippine–Australia Local Governance Development Program, a Bohol Integrated Water Supply Master Plan (2008) “identified six river basins as potential sources of bulk water, and evaluated priority water supply projects.”