School fails water and potability test by MCWD

Bring your own drinking water.

Students and faculty members of Quiot Elementary School were advised to do just that after the school failed the water safety and potability test conducted by the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).

“We discourage students from drinking directly from the water from the deep well in Quiot,” Dr. Daisy Villa, the city health officer of Cebu City, said.

The school is one of the 14 public elementary schools whose water supply was subjected to tests before the opening of classes at the request of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

MCWD Water Control Division officer-in-charge Mary Jo Paylaga, however, clarified that the contamination is not health-threatening as it is “non-fecal”.

Nonetheless, she added, the school administration has to address the concern.

Quiot Elementary School also sources its water supply from a deep well.

The schools that passed the test were: Talamban High School, Guadalupe Elementary School, Punta Princesa Elementary School, Don Vicente Rama Elementary School, Lahug Elementary School, Tisa II Elementary School, Pardo Elementary School, Tejero Elementary School, Abellana National High School, Labangon Elementary School and Basak Community School.

MCWD’s water testing laboratory is among the 13 laboratories in Central Visayas accredited by the Department of Health.

Two schools

Two schools – the City Central Elementary School and Talamban Elementary School – failed an earlier round of tests after its faucets were found to have been contaminated.

“The contamination was domestic which means that the faucet where the samples were taken need cleaning,” MCWD’s Paylaga explained.

A repeat test was conducted after two days and the samples from City Central already passed the water quality test.

In Talamban, the water source has “improved” but the contamination was not yet totally eradicated.

The MCWD advised school officials to always maintain the cleanliness of their faucets as well as its surroundings to avoid contamination of the water being supplied by the utility firm.

Informed of the test results, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella urged the City Health Department (CHD) to help the administrators of Quiot Elementary School address the problem.

“Pursuant to general welfare, I will inform the City Health Department (today) to conduct and examination of the water in Quiot School,” Labella told Cebu Daily News.

He said he will also recommend that all public schools in Cebu City be subjected to water quality tests.

City Health Officer Villa said they have started testing water from public schools in the city since the opening of the classes last June 2.

Villa said they have finished testing around 60 percent of the public schools in the city, mostly in the north district.

“So far, all of the tested samples of water were negative of contamination. But we still have to continue with the schools especially in the south district where Quiot is located,” Villa told CDN.

She said City Hall inspectors will visit schools to check on sanitation conditions. Villa said the inspectors will prioritize the public schools as private-owned schools could do the maintenance on their own.

“We’re expecting normal operations in public schools today since the past weeks have been usually for orientation and preparation. We’ll continue inspecting the water supply, sanitation, toilets especially since some classrooms have their own toilet already,” she said.

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