Water everywhere in Boracay except where it’s needed–taps

Flood erased the main road of Boracay at the height of Tropical Storm “Urduja.” —FACEBOOK PHOTO

ILOILO CITY—From flooding to water shortage.

Boracay residents and business owners were grappling with this paradox just shortly after the world famous resort island suffered its worst flooding and was now suffering from the effects of a busted water pipe.

At least 4,300, or two-thirds of 6,300 consumers, relying for clean water on the Boracay Island Water Co. (BIWC) were now suffering from insufficient, or in extreme cases, the absence of water. Most were residents of Balabag and Yapak villages.

Among the villages, only Manoc-Manoc has full supply of water, according to Blanca Eunicia Aldaba, BIWC business operations chief.

Restored today

Aldaba said the supply of water for the entire island was expected to be fully restored today when repairs and tests had been completed.

Strong flood currents at the height of Tropical Storm “Urduja” (international name: Kai-tak) severed parts of a 400-millimeter pipe in the village of Sambiray in Malay town, Aklan. It carries water from BIWC’s treatment plant to Boracay.

BIWC draws water from Nabaoy River in mainland Malay.

The utility had resorted to deploying tankers to deliver water to areas suffering from either insufficient or zero water.

Delivery

BIWC was a joint venture of Manila Water and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) under a 25-year concession which started in 2009.

Manila Water has an 80-percent controlling stake in BIWC while Tieza has a 20-percent share.

Aldaba said water is delivered to hotels, resorts and restaurants with water cisterns and other storage systems. In residential areas, water tanks deliver supply in designated areas to consumers with water containers.

Repair of the damaged water system was expected to be completed today but Aldaba said BIWC needed to conduct tests first on water quality.

Water supply from the mainland was cut off at the height of the storm when water coming from Nabaoy River became turbid.

Rains spawned by Urduja flooded at least 90 percent of roads on the 1,032-hectare island on Sunday.

Thousands of tourists were also stranded after boat trips between Malay and Boracay were canceled.