MANILA, Philippines ? The United BF Homes Association Inc. of Parañaque City has urged the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) to decide quickly on the rate the subdivision?s waterworks system would charge to finally end the six-year water shortage in the area.

Faucets had been dry since 2002 when the water supply to the Philippine Waterworks Construction Corp. (PWCC) was cut off by Maynilad Water Services for nonpayment of arrears estimated at P5 million.

But if the rates turn out to be high, the association said it would contest this later.

PWWC, owned by the developer of BF Homes, owns the pipelines in the village.

For now, 70 percent of BF Homes residents who responded to a recent UBFHAI survey favored the short-term solution of resuming the supply of bulk water to PWCC which, in turn, would retail it to them.

The permanent solution supported by the majority of residents is to establish a direct connection to Maynilad service.

There are about 10,000 households in BF Homes Parañaque straddling the cities of Parañaque, Muntinlupa and Las Piñas.

The survey, according to Antonio Tinsay, UBFHAI water committee chair, showed that 70 percent or 1,930 of 2,760 survey respondents want the NWRB to act promptly on the PWCC rate petition.

The private waterworks proposal was to retail Maynilad water to BF residents at P49 per cubic meter, up from the average of P28 before the supply was stopped. Maynilad had offered to sell bulk water to PWWC at P28-P29.

Trucked water deliveries cost residents P95 per cubic meter.

Tinsay said the UBFHAI board would be filing a manifestation with the NWRB in support of the majority of the residents? view of ?Water Now, Complain Later.?