Water rationed in Iloilo areas ravaged by ‘Frank’
ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Authorities have started rationing water in the city after typhoon “Frank” inundated Iloilo province and damaged water supply lines in Cabatuan town to thousands of households.
Residents of Jaro and La Paz districts and the city proper, and of the nearby towns of Pavia and Santa Barbara, will have water supply for only three to six hours daily, while those in Mandurriao, Molo and Arevalo districts, and the towns of Oton and San Miguel will experience low water pressure.
According to an advisory of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD), which is implementing the rationing scheme, the typhoon damaged its transmission lines in Barangay (village) Amerang in Cabatuan, cutting off supply to service areas.
The MIWD extracts water from the Tigum River through an intake dam in Barangay Daja, Maasin town, 29.5 kilometers northwest of this city, and from seven pumping stations in deep wells in Oton and San Miguel.
It provides around one million cubic meters of water monthly to some 21,000 customers in Oton, Pavia, Santa Barbara, Cabatuan, Maasin, San Miguel and this city.
Some consumers in the MIWD service areas have been relying on deep wells and water refilling stations for drinking water. In Barangay Kasing-Kasing, Molo district, drinking water is being sold at P5 per gallon by the owner of a deep well.
“It is really difficult for us,” village chief Gemma Calzado told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. She advised residents to boil water drawn from wells.
Iloilo Mayor Jerry Treñas called on businessmen, especially operators of water refilling stations, not to take advantage of the crisis by jacking up prices. It could take three to four months for the water supply to return to normal, he said, quoting MIWD officials.
Treñas said the city government would deploy trucks with water tanks to supply most of the city’s 180 barangay affected by the flooding.
The possible outbreak of diseases from a lack of potable water and flooded wells has become a major concern.
Nestor Burgos Jr., Philippine Daily Inquirer
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