MCWD gets additional water supply

CEBU, Philippines - The Metropolitan Cebu Water District is getting an additional water supply of 132,000 cubic meters through 2018 amid the increasing water demand in Metro Cebu.

Speaking at a meeting hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines in Cebu City last week, MCWD Spokesperson Charmaine Rodriguez-Kara cited the additional supply the water district is getting from bulk water supply contracts this year, in 2017 and through 2018.

These water supply contracts include: Carmen (35,000 cubic meters a day in 2015); Talamban (4,500 cubic meters a day in 2016); Mactan Desal (7,000 cubic meters a day in 2016); Danao (20,000 cubic meters a day in 2017); Nivel (35,000 cubic meters a day in 2018); and Talisay (10,000 cubic meters a day in 2017).

In 2015, the daily water demand in Metro Cebu stood at 371,000 cubic meters but MCWD only served 163,000 cubic meters a day or 43 percent of the total versus its daily production of 218,000 cubic meters per day.

Kara said 35 percent of the total existing demand of consumers is not currently served by MCWD.

Aside from the additional water supply, she said the water district would also install 88.5 kilometers of expansion pipelines and develop 31,600 cubic meters of reservoirs.

Currently, MCWD has total pipelines of 956 kilometers.

Water supply in Cebu areas not served by MCWD is sourced from private deep wells and water providers.

Sources of water in Cebu include surface water and groundwater, among others.

MCWD's service areas include cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Talisay; and municipalities of Consolacion, Cordova and Liloan.

Demand

The Roadmap Study for Sustainable Urban Development in Metro Cebu done by Japan International Cooperation Agency projects the water supply demand in Metro Cebu to increase by 437,000 cubic meters per day to reach around 800,000 per cubic meters a day by 2050.

And this will require large investment in the development and improvement of existing water supply infrastructure, JICA said.

As of 2013, water supply in Metro Cebu stood at 227,525 cubic meters per day and this is seen to increase to 359,800 cubic meters per day by 2020.

The water demand is expected to increase with the rising economic activities and growing industries in Cebu.

The fast population growth in Metro Cebu is also increasing the pressure on existing systems of water supply.

The expanding urbanization and the rising population are two major factors cited to have intensified the challenges related to water quality and wastewater treatment. (FREEMAN)