By Ercel Maandig/PNA
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD) and supplier Cagayan de Oro Bulk Water Inc. (COBI) assured the public on Tuesday that potable water supply will be stable throughout the summer and even if El Niño affects the city.
The assurance was made in view of the water supply shortage in Metro Manila.
City Mayor Oscar Moreno said he has spoken with COBI General Manager Bienvenido Batar, who assured that both of the city’s ground and surface water sources are at stable levels.
Some portions of the city will suffer from low water supply this week, but COBI spokesperson Ladelle Salgado said that this was due to some rehabilitation works done by their engineering department.
Salgado said that the COWD’s wells remain stable while the water level of the Bubunawan River where COBI sources its bulk water remain normal.
“The recently-implemented augmentation of water supply for the eastern side of the city — sourced from the Bubunawan River from the west — has certainly given rise to greater confidence on the overall water level,” she said.
“It can be recalled that this augmentation was made possible by COBI’s installation of pipes from the western side of the city to the eastern portion to allow water sourced from Bubunawan River to also serve the east side,” she said.
She added: “I am also pleased to advise our people that, historically, our abovementioned water sources have maintained stable levels even during past El Niño seasons. Let us thank the Almighty for this blessing.”
Still, Salgado reminded the public to conserve water.
Meanwhile, Moreno said that the City Engineer’s Office has been directed to come up with interventions for agricultural lands using non-COWD water systems in the event of severe drought.
