TACLOBAN CITY – Ormoc City has identified two rivers as major sources of water in the city as part of its bid to ensure a stable water supply to 82 percent of its communities in the next 25 years.
The initial result of the latest feasibility study recommends Ahag River, Pagsanga-an River and Lake Danao as possible sources.
“(However,) it cannot be Lake Danao because water might be plentiful in our lake, but considering it is on a fault line, the consultants said it is not advisable. Any ground movement from the fault line will damage the major pipelines,” Mayor Richard Gomez said in an interview on Thursday.
“It is actually easy for people to say that Lake Danao is the best source, but unfortunately, the study suggests otherwise,” he added.
The lake has been one of the sources of water for six Leyte towns and Tacloban City.
The official was referring to a study of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center.
The water system project aims to provide an uninterrupted supply facility with a source, a reservoir, a piped distribution network with an adequate treatment facility, and household taps.
A reservoir will be set up and a new pipeline from bulk water will also be built to augment the interconnection of existing pipelines.
The project will also establish a clarifier and filtration gallery to improve the quality of the water.
It is seen to upgrade the water supply in 28 service areas.
Earlier, the city government said they are eyeing loans from state-run banks to finance the long-term water supply project. The estimated cost is PHP2 billion.
At present, the city’s water supply comes from various sources including underground water and rivers.
The existing water system only supplies about 70 percent of the requirement of the city’s 25,000 water concessionaires, Gomez said.
Around 61.5 percent of Ormoc’s population are connected to a piped distribution network with an adequate treatment facility.
Ormoc is a first-class independent component city in Leyte province with a population of 230,998 in 110 villages, making it the second-most-populous city in the province Leyte.
The city is the economic, cultural, commercial, and transportation hub of western Leyte.
(SARWELL Q.MENIANO/PNA)
