Toledo places nine villages under calamity status
NINE villages or barangays were placed under calamity status by the Toledo City government after water levels there dropped by more than 90 percent due to the ongoing dry spell.
In a resolution approved last Friday, the Toledo City Council identified Barangays Cantabaco, Das, Poog, Media Once, Don Juan Climaco, Ilihan Sangi, Luray II, and Poblacion as areas under calamity status.
The council authorized Toledo City Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña to “initiate and implement urgent remedial measures needed to address the water shortage and for other purposes.”
In his Facebook page, Osmeña said they were working on a distribution line from the Carmen Copper Corp. (CCC) reservoir, one of the local water district’s sources, to the Poog Township.
The Toledo City Water District (TCWD), represented by general manager Francisco Abellana, sent the mayor a proposed program of works for a P2.1-million distribution line last April 6.
Last March 28, the water district wrote a letter to Mayor Osmeña, requesting him to declare a state of calamity over the barangays within its service area.
Aside from the CCC reservoir which is under supply contract, Abellana said the water district gets water from a combination of spring and deep well water sources in Barangay Cantabaco.
He said water levels there have dropped by 97 percent due to the dry spell.
Abellana said water production went down from 2,200 cubic meters a day to only 70 cubic meters per day, affecting 3,000 concessionaires.
“In order to substitute the amount lost, one option is to source out additional 1,000 cubic meters per day from CCC at their Poog filtration plant,” Abellana said.
He said the dry spell lowered the water table in some of their pumping stations that cover six barangays.
One of the most affected is the Luray pumping station which serves 700 households.
The pumping station has been operating for more than 50 years and is close to the shoreline.
Abellana said saltwater intrudes into the water source during high tide, causing the supply to become undrinkable.
“The best solution to address this problem would be to acquire a water processing facility that will reduce or remove the amount of contaminant level[s],” Abellana said in his letter.
In his Facebook post, Osmeña called on constituents to conserve water.
Toledo City, a third-income class city, is home to 38 barangays and 157,078 residents as of 2010.
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