Laguna Water’s connections

What is taking eternity for the two private water concessionaires of Metro Manila to accomplish, the Laguna Water District did in three years. During the period, the district ’s non-revenue water went down from 40% to 25%.

"I’m not satisfied with 25%. I think we can reduce this further to 18%, which is the non-revenue water rate of Victoria, Australia," said Laguna Water District head Pantaleon Tabanao. Singapore’s non-revenue water rate is 11%.

To do that, the water district will have to invest P5 million a year.

It expects to get the first tranche (worth P10 million) of a Luzon Development Bank loan by the end of this month. Proceeds will increase connections by 30% to 40% in the three towns that it services: Los Banos, Bay and Calauan.

Of the estimated population of 100,000 in the three towns, 18,000 households now have water connections. Within the next five years, connections will increase to 25,000 households.

For the past three years, the district has put in P1.5 million annually to replace old pipes with new ones and to install good quality meters in customers’ homes and offices. "To detect leaking pipes, we would deploy inspectors at night, when consumption is low and, therefore, the water pressure is strong," said Tabanao , who used to teach at the UP Los Baños Land and Water Resource Engineering Department.

It has also increased collection efficiency to between 96% and 98% by tapping banks as collection agents, similar to what the Bureau of Internal Revenue is doing for its tax collection. Under this set up, banks get P1.50 for every statement of account paid through their branches.

"Because of reduced non-revenue water and increased collection efficiency, the Laguna Water District is earning P5 million a month, up from its P1 million level three years ago. This has been a factor in the district’s ability to borrow from banks," said Tabanao.

More investments

Like all water districts, Laguna is regulated by the Local Water Utilities Administration. LWUA is also a traditional funding source for water districts, which are classified under five categories ranging from very small , for a district with 1,000 connections, to very large, for districts with 100,000 or more connections. The Laguna district is classified as big, which qualifies it for LWUA loans for P100 million to P150 million.

Laguna’s outstanding LWUA debt is P10 million, down from P16 million three years ago. The water district has a pending P40 million loan application with the LWUA. "We’ve been told the release will be in 2004. This is too far away. I cannot wait for that long to improve my operations," said Tabanao. These improvements will increase the district’s monthly gross revenue to P10 million within the next five years. The doubling of revenues will be made, however, without compromising the district’s subsidy program.

"We are the only water district in the country that provides subsidized water to public schools, the Department of Health and local hospital, the public market and slaughterhouses and local government offices, including the municipal hall, at 55 centavos per cubic meter per month," said Tabanao.

The customers of the Laguna Water District aren’t complaining. — RGdelaCruz