Mandaue residents now have water connections

FOR the past 25 years, Coludio Fernando had to carry pails of water from his neighbor’s house through a narrow wooden bridge on stilts in Lower Tipolo, Mandaue City.

Fernando, 56, is one of the recipients of the Tubig-Pagasa project of E & V Water and Life Philippines, a French government-funded organization.

The organization partnered with the Metropolitan Cebu Water District in this water project. The MCWD supplies water, while the organization takes care of the distribution and collection of payments.

Fernando said that aside from the inconvenience of fetching water from their neighbor, they also spend more as they are charged P2 for every pail and they consume at least 10 pails a day.

Fernando now enjoys a level three water connection at a very minimal cost. Level 3 water supply means individual household has its own water connection.

The organization chose the relocation site of informal settlers in Lower Tipolo to be the recipients of the program.

According to Sendrine Jackson, the program manager, the actual implementation of the program started in January this year and at present, they already have 220 connections. They target to serve 400 households.

Each beneficiary will pay P5,000 for the service connection, materials and labor which they will pay on installment basis every day for 18 months. This is collected on top of the payment for their daily consumption which is usually between P10 to P20 a day.

The organization also plans to give firefighting training to residents and put up hydrants within the area although they still have to improve water pressure.

Lower Tipolo Homeowner’s Association Inc. is a group of residents occupying a relocation site. They lost their homes to a fire in 2007.