Mayor Marvin Malacon held a meeting with the EB Magalona Local Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Committee (LDWQMC), on Monday, October 3, to address concerns on water safety and quality, following the report of one cholera case and other possible water-borne diseases in the municipality.
The committee is chaired by Malacon with Municipal Health Officer Dr. Edmundo Janeo as vice chair, and Councilor Edgardo Agravante Jr., chair of the Sangguniang Bayan Committee on Health, as one of the members.
Among the recommendations of the Committee were to monitor water safety in the municipality by conducting Colilert test of water sources, require all water refilling stations and food establishments in the municipality to secure sanitary and business permits, and identify sanitary inspectors per barangay to be trained by the Municipal Health Office for implementation of the sanitation program, a press release from EB Magalona said.
The Municipal Health Office also held a meeting with the owners and operators of 19 water refilling stations operating in the municipality, to allay fears of their consumers in the light of water safety issue as the town recorded a case of cholera last week.
The attendees promised to abide with the recommendations of the Local Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Committee.
The MHO also urged the business owners to subject their water samples to bacteriological testing with accredited DOH laboratories immediately. The results will be out after four days, the press release said.
When they pass the test for water safety, the refilling stations are advised to post the laboratory certification on the façade of their stores, it added.
Janeo said the first batch of water refilling stations they had met this morning all have sanitary and business permits. They will schedule another meeting for those with no or lacking permits.*