BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – Faucets in this urban capital of more than half a million people can now heave sighs of relief as water replaces air coming out of the taps serviced by the local distribution utility and Villar-owned firm Primewater Infrastracture Inc.
The injection from the Bocal-bocal, a spring water source in the mountain village of Alangilan, starts today, 1 June 2024, and is seen to add five million liters a day to the severely short supply of Primewater that admitted repeatedly to failing to meet the water needs of the city since it started on a 25-year joint venture deal with BACIWA four years ago.
Observers said this is the first time amid an El Niño weather event that a shortage was felt in potable water supply here.
City Informeation officer Carmela Gamboa said the areas that will feel improved water supply or pressure today are: Villa Angela, a residential subdivision that is the closest to Alangilan in the city’s eastern side, Villamonte village with a population of around 35,000 people, and the urban villages of 27, 28, 29 and 30.
Improved supply will also be felt in Eroreco, a residential area in Mandalagan village in the north side where supply had been running low since the El Niño started, and in its neighboring areas in Hervias 1 and 2, Villa Ramos, and La Salle Avenue.
Gamboa said the additional water supply “is a result of (Mayor Albee’s) meetings with Baciwa-Primewater, which began during his water summit last January.”
The tapping of the Bocal-Bocal Spring was brokered by sitting Councilor Vladimir Gonzalez who is a relative of the family where the spring is located.
