Skip to main content

INWD admits low water supply this summer

By

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.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Empanada festival: A celebration of good taste and good life

By
By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters BATAC CITY—If there is one thing Batac is truly proud of, it would be its famous empanada-making business that has nurtured its people over the years. Embracing a century-old culture and culinary tradition, Batac’s empanada claims to be the best and tastiest in the country with its distinctive Ilokano taste courtesy of its local ingredients: fresh grated papaya, mongo, chopped longganisa, and egg. The crispy orange wrapper and is made of rice flour that is deep-fried. The celebration of this city’s famous traditional fast food attracting locals and tourists elsewhere comes with the City Charter Day of Batac every 23 rd  of June. Every year, the City Government of Batac led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta commemorate the city’s charter day celebration to further promote its famous One-Town, One Product, the Batac empanada. Empanada City The Batac empanada festival has already become...
9 comments
Read more

Free dormitories eyed for Nueva Era students in LC, Batac

By
 Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Nueva Era , Ilocos Norte—The municipal government here, headed by Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida is planning to establish dormitories in the cities of Laoag and Batac that will exclusively cater to college students from the said cities. “Sapay la kuma ta maituloyen iti mabiit tay ar-arapaapen tayo ken iti munisipyo a maipatakderan kuma dagiti annak tayo a college students nga agbasbasa idiay siyudad iti Batac ken Laoag iti libre a dormitoryo a bukod da ngem inggana nga awan pay ket an-anusan mi paylaeng nga ibaklay kenni apo bise mayor iti pagbayad da iti kasera aggapu iti bukod mi a suweldo malaksid dagitay it-ited iti munisipyo ken iti barangay nga stipend da kada semester, ” Garvida said.    Garvida added that the proposed establishment of dormitories would be a big help to the students’ parents as this would shoulder the expenses of their children for rent and likewise they would feel...
Post a Comment
Read more

P29 per kilo rice sold to vulnerable groups in Ilocos region

By
BBM RICE. Residents buy rice for only PHP29 per kilo at the NIA compound in San Nicolas town, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. The activity was under a nationwide pilot program of the government to sell quality and affordable rice initially to the vulnerable sectors. (Lei Adriano) San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte —Senior citizens, persons with disability, and solo parents availed of cheap rice sold at PHP29 per kilogram during the grand launching of the Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) Rice held at the National Irrigation Administration compound in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. “ Maraming salamat Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa inyong pagmamahal sa Region 1 lalong-lalo na sa bayan namin sa San Nicolas,” said Violeta Pasion, a resident Brgy.   18 Bingao in this town. The low-priced grains were sourced from the National Irrigation Administration’s (NIA) contract farming with irrigators' association members in the province. Along with Pasion, Epi...
Post a Comment
Read more