PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan (PIA) — The ₱3 billion worth of water impounding structure of the city water district is set to be presented to the city council as a response to the anticipated increase in water demand in the next occurrence of the El Niño phenomenon.
Walter Laurel, General Manager of the Puerto Princesa City Water District (PPCWD), said in the “Kapihan with Media” on October 28 that the completed study shows that the project will serve as a water impounding facility and flood control, and as a site for tourism.
During the rainy season, PPCWD water sources can produce 90 million liters per day (MLD), but goes down to around 52 MLD during the El Niño.
“Kapag summer, bumababa ang flow ng ating mga ilog, dito tayo kukuha ng augmentation ng ating suplay. Sa ngayon ay tapos na ang ating geodetical investigation, napatunayan na natin sa pag-aaral na ginawa ng ating consultant na…kaya maghold ng tubig,” he said.
(During summer when there is less water coming from the river, we will get supply augmentation from the dam. Now that the geodetic investigation is finished, it was proven in the study conducted by our consultant that the dam can hold water).
The facility will store the diverted water from rivers like Lapu-Lapu, providing an additional water supply during the dry season.
The project will benefit the 55,981 active service connections in 54 barangays connected to the PPCWD.
The impounding structure will also have an artificial lake that serves for recreational activities similar to the CamSur Watersports Complex, thus could attract tourists.
Given the estimated cost, Laurel acknowledged that PPCWD cannot handle it alone without the national government’s support.
The city water district is also in active partnership with both the public and private sectors to manage the cost.
And as the project was also aligned under the multi-use infrastructure project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the water district hoped to get funds from the said office.
“Sana mapondohan ng DPWH para mabawasan ang cost na iso-shoulder ni water district,” he said.
(We hope that DPWH will also fund the project to lessen the cost to be shouldered by the water district).
The infrastructure is expected to rise in Sta. Lucia Environmental Estate, where the city government of Puerto Princesa has given the city water district a 120-hectare area for the project. (PIA MIMAROPA-Palawan)
