Firm stops paying for dirty Legazpi City water

LEGAZPI CITY—The Legazpi City Water District (LCWD) has decided to suspend paying for water supplied by Phil Hydro Inc. until the water firm provider is able to deliver potable water to more than 250,000 consumers here.

The LCWD board of directors reached this decision on Thursday as it directed Phil Hydro to immediately improve water quality in the wake of a health bulletin issued Tuesday by the Legazpi City government advising residents here to refrain from drinking tap water provided by LCWD as it is not fit for human consumption.

Barbie Imperial Borromeo, LCWD acting general manager, said that until corrective measures have been carried out by Phil Hydro, all monthly service payments to the company would be suspended.

Borromeo said Phil Hydro would be losing P7 million in monthly service payments if the firm fails to rectify its water quality.

The resolution, signed by LCWD board chair Ranulfo Imperial, was immediately sent to Phil Hydro, said Borromeo.

The city government issued the health bulletin based on a study by University of the Philippines Natural Science and Research Institute (UP-NSRI) indicating the water supplied by LCWD to thousands of households did not conform with the Philippine National Standard for Drinking Water and was not suitable for drinking.

High levels of magnesium and other dissolved solids were found in the water supply.

Borromeo said LWCD respected the city government’s advisory warning city residents against drinking tap water from LCWD but said it stirred unnecessary anxiety among consumers.

She said the UP-NSRI study could be contested by other studies with a different conclusion.

She said the UP-NSRI study would need further medical interpretation from health experts because, she claimed, there were other studies which said that the presence of magnesium, hard water and dissolved solids in water does not present health risks.

Borromeo said magnesium is the fourth most abundant element on earth and is a natural content of water.

“Magnesium is not harmful to humans. In fact our bodies need it at tolerable levels,” she said.

“Ever since, I have been drinking tap water as well as our other employees at the water district and we have not experienced any illness so far,” Borromeo said. With a report from Rey Nasol, Inquirer Southern Luzon