CEBU, Philippines — The water supply problem in Metro Cebu is far from being over and that the most that embattled Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) Board of Directors Chairman Jose “Joey” Daluz III could do during his term, or until Dec. 31, 2024, is to meet at most half of the total demand.
This is what he admitted during The Freeman’s “Hot Seat” episode with news editor Fred Languido, where he also revealed that he is inclined to run against Mayor Michael Rama in the 2025 elections.
And while admitting that MCWD could not meet the water demand within his term, he also lamented that it is just unfortunate that the Cebu local government units (LGUs) are leaving the problem solely for MCWD to solve.
“Sad to say, nga ang atong LGUs, gipasagdan ra ang MCWD. ‘MCWD’, they said, ‘ila ng trabaho pagpangita tanan; funding, everything’, when in fact, supposedly, kaning atong mga LGUs they have IRA (Internal Revenue Allotment), they can contribute, they can fund it (developing a water source) and mokita pang LGU, ilang ibaligya sa MCWD,” he said.
Daluz said that to meet his target, MCWD is looking into the Bulacao River as a possible source of water, Kawasan Falls in Badian town, as well as the rivers of Asturias and Balamban towns in Midwest Cebu.
The downside, he said, is that tapping into them need a big amount of funding, which MCWD do not have.
“Di gyud; MCWD cannot do it. The best is the government should help…for the generation of the source of water, ang mugasto ang gobiyerno. Ang distribution mao natong mga districts. In America, silay mo-create sa source of water. If given to the private sector, momahal. The government should act on that,” he said.
Right now, he said, he is doing what he can to at least meet half of the demand under MCWD’s franchise area.
He said that with the Opao, Mandaue City and the Mambaling, Cebu City desalination plants, which are both expected to supply 25,000 cubic meters daily, with 10,000 cubic meters expected to be ready by next month, and the desalination project in Cordova, Cebu, with 20,000 cubic meters expected to be of use already either next month or in April, MCWD already has an additional 40,000 to 70,000 cubic meters of daily supply for this year.
“When we started at MCWD, Feb.2020, ang atong production is around 220,000 cubic meters per day. Karon niabot na ta’g 290,000 cubic meters with the additional source of water—Mac-1, Mac 2 in Lapu-Lapu, Suba-Basbas, and some wells,” he said.
He, however, admitted that this is still not enough to meet the demand. He said that in 2020, the daily demand was at 560,000 cubic meters. Now, it is at around 600,000 cubic meters per day.
“Dako pa kaayo (ang kuwang). This cannot be solved overnight,” Daluz said.
He said that Cebu is relying on ground water, yet it can only do so much, because one well can only produce 600 to 1,500 cubic meters of water each day.
“Og magsalig ta sa ground, we need a thousand tingali or 500 wells to establish, Di pwede, it will take a long time,” he said.
He said there are surface water sources, but they need big infrastructures and several years to build, making desalination, the easiest and perhaps most practical choice, which is why MCWD opted for it.
At the moment, MCWD only has Buhisan Dam, Brgy. Lusaran, Cebu City, and Carmen, Cebu as surface water sources.
“Sa tibuok kalibutan nag-hybrid, part desal(ination), part surface water. Because the entire world, sa nahibaw-an nako sa pagsuroy nako, dwindling gyud ang ground and surface water (supply),” Daluz said.
Here in Cebu, he said, salt water has also already intruded into the water table to as far up as Brgy. Talamban.
“Nisud na ang salt water. Pressure of fresh water di naman ka push sa salt water. Felt even in Talamban. With desalination, undang-undangon sa nato ang mga wells para maka-recover and replenish,” Daluz said.
“In Cebu City, 400,000 cubic meters can be extracted from the ground. MCWD is already extracting almost 200,000. Okay pa kaayo. However, naay mga private wells, daghan kaayo, nga nag-extract nga unregulated, maong maguba gyud atong aquifer,” he added.
While MCWD is supposedly deputized to legally extract water, private suppliers continue to enjoy the extraction of ground water because of the provisional permit given to them by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB).
Daluz said MCWD automatically opposed for these private entities to have permits, but it could not stop the NWRB from allowing them because MCWD is also not able to keep up with the demand.
And with his term winding down to just about 10 months more, it looks meeting the water supply demand in Metro Cebu falls on the shoulders of his replacement, or on that of Mayor Michael Rama’s appointee, retired general Melquiades Feliciano.
Rama replaced Daluz as MCWD BOD chairman, as well as BOD members Miguelito Pato and Jodelyn Seno, October last year, with Feliciano (as chairman), Atty. Aristotle Batuhan, and businessman Nelson Yuballos.
Daluz, though, refused to step down, resulting in an impasse, arguing that it is the Local Water Resources Board, not the mayor, who has the power to replace him. Guided by the opinion from the LWUA, the MCWD management and staff continue to recognize Daluz as the legitimate chairman of the board. — (FREEMAN)