Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said PrimeWater officials on Monday, April 29, submitted a report on steps they are taking to address the current water shortage in Bacolod City.
They informed him that they will bring down their water shortage to 1 MLD (millions of liter per day) this year, and will start having a supply surplus in 2025 that will reach 50 MLD by 2028, Benitez said.
They said before El Niño about 50 percent of the Baciwa-PrimeWater consumers were getting water supply 24/7 but it has dropped to 43 percent, the mayor added.
That means 57 percent of Baciwa-PrimeWater’s consumers are currently experiencing water shortage, Benitez said.
Primewater’s failure to provide 24/7 water supply to all consumers based on its joint venture agreement with the Bacolod City Water District means it will be fined P2.4 million, he said.
The mayor said he will push for better compensation from PrimeWater for its failure to comply with its commitments and for a water security plan for Bacolod.
The PrimeWater officials informed the mayor that they now have five water trucks for water rationing in Bacolod City and are distributing 24 storage tanks to 12 barangays identified with 0 to 4-hour water availability.
The PrimeWater officials also assured that they will be signing contracts within the week with Home Invest Holdings Inc. for the Bocal – Bocal Spring initiative and the Bacolod Bulk Water Inc. Injection Point 2 initiative that will bring additional water to the city, Benitez said.
Roberto Brique Jr., PrimeWater lnfrastructure Corp. president, in a letter to the mayor said that the following projects will be undertaken to address Bacolod’s water needs:
- Construction of a Water Treatment Plant located at Matab-ang River ensuring 3 MLD within 6 months and an additional 3 MLD increasing to 15-20 MLD in the succeeding year;
- Construction of a Water Treatment Plant located at Sum-ag River ensuring 3 MLD within 6 months and an additional 3 MLD increasing to 15-20 MLD in the succeeding year;
- Additional bulk supply from NNHI – 30 MLD (2026), 40 MLD (2027), 50 MLD (2028); and
- Additional 2 MLD from deep well located at Villa Angela subject to filtration setup.*