Legazpi City folk upset over claim water is potable

LEGAZPI CITY—Officials and residents in this city are up in arms over a statement made recently by officials of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) in Manila saying tap water here was safe to drink.

Noel Rosal, city administrator, said he questions the authority of LWUA officials in Manila to declare tap water here as potable.

“What basis did LWUA have?” Rosal said. “It is baseless.”

He said if there was any agency that should declare whether or not water is potable, it should be the Department of Health.

Rosal said LWUA should have informed the city government first about any test results on the water supply of this city in the same way LWUA did on a study done by University of the Philippines Natural Sciences and Research Institute (UP-NSRI) that found tap water here not potable.

The UP-NSRI study was the basis for the health bulletin issued last week by the city government warning city residents against drinking water directly from the tap.

Rosal said LWUA should instead investigate and take action on excessive water rates being charged consumers here.

Many city residents complained of yellowish water coming from their faucets, indicating that water being supplied by PhilHydro, the company that has a 25-year contract to supply water to this city, is far from clean.

The source of furor in this city was an interview over radio station dzIQ in Manila (a sister company of the Inquirer) with Antonio Magtibay, LWUA public affairs chief. In that interview, Magtibay claimed water from the tap in Legazpi City was safe to drink.

Magtibay said in that interview that steps had been taken to reduce levels of magnesium, calcium carbonate and dissolved solids that make the water appear dirty. Mar S. Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon