DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/10 November) — After years of having no stable access to water, around 2,000 households in Mandug district will benefit from a P57-million facility that the Davao City Water District will inaugurate on November 19.
Speaking during Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City on Monday, DCWD spokesperson Atty. Bernardo D. Delima Jr. said it took two years to build the facility, from the laying of the distribution lines to putting up the elevated tank that can hold up to 400 cubic meters.
This will serve DDF Village residents in Mandug who may apply starting Nov.
11 for water supply which is drawn from the source in Dumoy.
“Those who are outside of the village, if they wish to apply, we still have to process the mainline but within the village, there are already pipelines,” Delima said.
The village has around 1,000 households, he said.
“Our Mandug area is backed by 1,000 cubic meters from Tamugan,” he said.
A few meters away from this facility, Delima said DCWD will build a reservoir with a 400-cubic meter capacity to supply the same area.
DCWD has partnered with Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc., a joint venture between Aboitix Equity Ventures and J.V. Angeles Construction Corporation, for a P10-billion bulk water supply agreement.
Delima said they have already submitted a recommendation to the Watershed Management Council and it’s now up to the Davao City Council to review and approve it.
Under the recommendations, Apo Agua will help formulate, implement, and fund watershed conservation programs.
“We will continue with the reforestation upstream and downstream,” he said.
He added DCWD has 25 sampling stations in Tamugan to check the water’s chemical and physical components and evaluate the bacteria.
The Mindanao Development Authority will hold on November 11 to 12 at the Grand Regal Hotel the 1st Mindanao River Basin Organization Conference, which is organized under the agency’s “MindaNOW! Nurturing Our Water Program.”
The gathering is co-organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources 11’s River Basin Control Office.
MinDA Chair Luwalhati Antonio, in a press statement said the conference aims to deepen the commitment of local government units in promoting cooperation and develop long-term relationships among the stakeholders.
The major river basins of Mindanao include Agus River, Cagayan de Oro River, Tagaloan River, Agusan River, Tagum Libuganon River, Davao River, and Buayan-Malungan River.
Rolando Pinsoy, development management officer of MinDA, added they have allocated P1 billion worth of reforestation projects for the Agus and Pulangui rivers, which are the primary sources of electricity in Mindanao.
(Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
