By Dominic B. dela Cruz and
Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporters
Laoag
City—Ilocos Norte Water District (INWD)
general manager Engr. John Teodoro admitted that they are having issues with
water supply this summer.
Mr. Teodoro disclosed that
the IWND wells at Brgys. 27 and 29 in this city is yielding lower water supply.
Of the total yield from the
wells, Mr. Teodoro said there is already a 9-liter per second reduction and
this could possibly go down further.
To compensate, the INWD
upgraded their other water well in Vintar, Ilocos Norte to balance out the low
supply in the eastern part of the city. Currently, the said plan is yielding 1o
liters per second.
With this development, Mr.
Teodoro said the city’s Ermita Hill area is now being supplied with water
except during peak hours. Before this, water supply in the said part of the
city was limited to 11:30 pm-12:00 am. Ironically, INWD’s main office is right
at the said area.
Mr. Teodoro added that they
are planning a similar action on their Bacarra water pump station to add to the
water supply of the city’s western and poblacion areas. They believe they can
add 10 liters per second from this plan.
Laoag’s southern barangays are the most affected by the low water pressure
situation.
Mr. Teodoro said they are
looking into the possibility of constructing an additional pump station in this
area to solve this.
Additional wells
An additional well is also needed in Pinili is also being
planned to normalize the water supply situation there. Pinili’s water supply is
being sourced from Badoc, and the said supply is also getting lower.
Likewise, the town of Solsona
also needs an additional well to augment the needed water supply there
Erratic power supply
Mr. Teodoro also pointed out that the lower water supply
situation is also because of the voltage situation from the Ilocos Norte
Electric Cooperative (INEC).
The INWD general manager
explained that their machines automatically shuts down when power voltage goes
up to 270-280 volts or goes down to 190 volts which are out of their machine’s
allowable range.
He added that although they
have standby generators, but INEC’s unannounced power interruptions also catch
them by surprise and their generators need to warm up for 15 minutes before
they can power their pumps. On top of this, they also need to “blow off” the
initial water pumped for 45 minutes as these are usually murky.
In all, he said INEC’s sudden
power cut would set them back at least an hour before they can pump water
again.
Other issues
Another reason, Mr. Teodoro cited, is the on-going replacement
of old water pipes along the city’s main streets as well as the on-going road
widening project to solve the water leakage problems.
To help them solve these
issues, Mr. Teodoro said they hired water expert Engr. Alfonso Basco as
consultant. Mr. Basco worked for the Local Water Utilities Administration
(LWUA) until his retirement.
Variable Frequency Drive
Mr. Teodoro said they will also replace their “controllers”
into a state of the art Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) which is more tolerant
in determining high and low voltage of electricity.
The VFD will regulate voltage
fluctuations, causing water service interruption in elevated areas and low
pressure in some areas of Laoag City.
By April 15, Mr. Teodoro said
the water pressure in Laoag City’s increasing concessionaires is expected to
become more stable with the on-going upgrading of pumping equipment.
Meanwhile, he likewise
appealed to construction workers engaged in road widening projects in the
entire province of Ilocos Norte to report immediately the repair of any leak in
water distribution systems which they may have accidentally damaged during the construction
works and used of heavy equipment.
“We seek our concessionaires’
patience and understanding to bear with us on this temporary inconvenience on
their water supply. INWD will do its best to hasten the work so that normal
operation will be restored at the earliest possible time,” Mr. Teodoro said.
Averting water crisis
While Ilocos Norte province particularly in the city of Laoag
gears up for rapid development and urbanization, the government-owned and
controlled water district seeks to upgrade its obsolete pumping equipment and
explore on long-term water management plan to avert looming water crisis.
In response to the call
of Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos during her last
year’s State of the Province Address (SOPA) to better manage water resources,
the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte together with INWD conducted the
first Provincial Water Summit on November 27, 2014 at Laoag City
Auditorium.
All stakeholders were invited
as they were asked to contribute and help preserve water sources by planting
more trees and use water wisely.
“Ilocos Norte, as we all
know, is abundant with water resources but we need to reach the goal on how to
properly manage them so that our province can effectively adapt to the
challenges of climate change,” Mr. Teodoro added.
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