Water shortage puts city in state of calamity

ILOILO CITY—Iloilo City has been placed under a state of calamity due to water shortage.

The city council issued the declaration last week based on a recommendation of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The Iloilo City Emergency Response office reported that at least two villages in the city were experiencing severe water shortage. These were Mansaya in La Paz District and Buntatala in Jaro District.

Many of the city’s 180 villages are also experiencing various levels of water shortage.

The calamity declaration will enable the city government and the barangays to use their calamity funds to address the shortage.

The city government has approved the release of P3 million for water rationing for the city’s barangays.

Among the measures eyed by the city government is to deliver water through water tankers to the affected barangays during the dry spell.

The city council last week declared a state of “imminent water crisis” during its regular session amid the continued effects of El Niño weather phenomenon.

The Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) last Thursday started an indefinite rationing of water supply in the city and neighboring towns.

The MIWD supplies more than 34,000 subscribers in the city and the towns of Oton, Pavia, Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Maasin and San Miguel in Iloilo province.

Water supply for most MIWD consumers have been reduced to three to four days per week from seven to nine hours per day.

The rationing was implemented due to a significant drop in supply of water at the dam in Barangay Daja in Maasin town, about 29.5 kilometers northwest of the city.

The dam is the main source of water supply of the MIWD. With a report from Joel Franco, Inquirer Visayas