Davao City Water District (DCWD) Spokesperson Jovana Cresta Duhaylungsod on Monday announced that the water utility company has a water surplus of 48 percent and only using 52 percent of the available water supply to serve its existing water service coverage.
Duhaylungsod said with this 48 percent water surplus, DCWD aims to help Davao City as a developing city or first-class metropolitan to attract investors.
“We can also assure not just the residents and the existing businesses but also the potential investors that Davao City has enough water supply to cater to the existing and projected water demand. With this we are hoping that DCWD would remain a strong supporter of Davao City in its development,” Duhaylungsod said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao.
Duhaylugnsod also said that with the surplus, DCWD is maximizing having the luxury right now because of the abundance and decided to rest their production wells.
“Some of these production wells have been operating for 50 years so now is the time na papahulayon nato sila to prevent tong risk sa over-extraction of ground water. Meantime wala pa kaapas ang water demand sa atoang water production capacity,” she said.
Secondly, Duhaylugnsod said with the surplus it is the direction of DCWD to expand initially in more areas in Davao City.
Currently, DCWD is covering 117 barangays of the 182 barangays of the city.
“If we look at our 10-year development plan the direction is to reach up to 146 barangays. So, using that surplus water dili na siya enough para ma reach nato ang 146 kay some of them are situated in areas na dili na maabot sa atong bulk water,” she said.
Duhaylungsod said with the surplus water plus the additional development of new sources, these will be used by DCWD to expand coverage from 117 to 146 barangays in Davao City.
She also said that currently DCWD is looking at the possibility of expanding its water supply to other areas adjacent to Davao City but it is not yet a priority.
“Just that atong nearby provinces naay challenges in securing viable water sources to be developed for Level 3 water service like Samal and Panabo City,” she said.
