DOH orders tests on drinking water supply in Metro Manila’s flood-affected areas

The Department of Health (DOH) Monday said it has ordered the conduct of tests on the drinking water supply in areas in Metro Manila that were hit by floods last week to ensure the public’s safety.

Dr. Eduardo Janairo, regional director for Metro Manila’s Center for Health Development, said that drinking water would be drawn from sampling points in affected areas and subjected to strict “bacteriological, physical and chemical examination.”

The tests are aimed at determining the potability of the water supply coming from Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc., according to Janairo, also chair of the Metro Manila Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Committee.

At the same time, he said that the health agency has deployed a mobile water treatment unit that would supply purified drinking water to people staying in evacuation centers in the metropolis.

“This water treatment facility unit can supply clean and potable drinking water in an instant,” Janairo explained. “It can be started up and applied on the spot. All you need is to obtain an adequate source of water for the unit to process,” he added.

The unit is on loan from the Albay provincial government as part of its humanitarian assistance to the thousands of families affected by the floodwaters that inundated a huge part of Metro Manila last week.

The mobile water treatment facility was donated to the Albay provincial government by Spain in 2009.

“We are very grateful for the assistance of the provincial government of Legazpi, Albay, through Gov. Joey Salceda,” Janairo said.

The facility can produce up to 12,000 liters of purified water per hour. It can process rainwater, including water taken from a river with mild turbidity, deep or shallow wells and swimming pools, said Janairo.