Zambo water district begins work

THE ZAMBOANGA City Water District is set to start its Mainline Replacement Program in the downtown area after officials and Mayor Beng Climaco led the ground breaking ceremony signalling the start of the project.

Mayor Beng Climaco joins the ZCWD officials in the ground breaking ceremony of the Mainline Replacement Program in downtown Zamboanga. (Bong Serondo)

The project, costing about P19 million, is part of the P80 million assistance donated this year by the Climaco administration to the ZCWD to help it rehabilitate the decades-old pipe line and cut water losses due to leaks. 

The Mainline Replacement Program covers the stretch of streets of N. S. Valderosa, Nuñez and Tomas Claudio Street. 

The P80 million check was handed over by Climaco to ZCWD General Manager Leonardo Rey Vasquez and Board of Director James Makasiar. 

“Thank you to the LGU for this grant of P80 million. This will really be a great help in the reduction of the NRW of the Zamboanga City Water District,” said Vasquez, referring to the non-revenue water loss. 

Makasiar also thanked the local government and the City Council for approving the grant. “We thanked the City Government of Zamboanga through the City Mayor, and the City Council of Zamboanga for the grant. This funds will be used primarily for the non-revenue water reduction in the Poblacion, in the City Proper. The Management and the Board have already agreed that we will fast track the rehabilitation and hopefully we can see immediate results. So thank you so much,” he said. 

NRW is basically produced, cleaned water which is lost somewhere in the water distribution system, never reaching its final destination. The reasons for water losses are many, ranging from leakages, pipe bursts, and poor water management to illegal connections. It can also come from commercial losses caused by the under-registration of customer meters, data handling errors, illegal connections and theft. 

Another cause of NRW is unbilled authorized consumption, which includes water used by utilities for operational purposes, water used for fire fighting, and water provided for free to certain consumer groups.

Water rates

Last year, the ZCWD raised its water rates despite pleas from residents and local government officials against it, especially at this time of the Covid-19 pandemic where many people and the economy are suffering.  

Climaco, who strongly opposed the water rate increase, demanded ZCWD to open its book of financial records to truly find out if there is really a need to increase the water rates amid the economic difficulties of the people due to the health crisis. 

But the ZCWD refused to make its financial books public. Since two years ago, ZCWD executives have wanted to raise water rates allegedly to improve its utility services and raise salaries of employees. But residents have long complained of inefficient services and yearly water rationing, and wasted water from broken or leaking pipes in different barangay that largely contributed to the NRW. 

Due to the poor services of the ZCWD and its insistence to increase water rates, members of the City Council previously called on Vasquez to resign. But the embattled Vasquez, who has been with ZCWD for many years now, said only the ZCWD Board of Directors can compel him to resign.  

The ZCWD last year hiked its minimum water rate of P210 or P25.00 water rate adjustment from P185 minimum charge. According to the ZCWD, the P25 rate adjustments represent only 13% of its proposed adjustment of P278 it filed with the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) in May 2020.

It said the increase in water rates is needed for it to be able to start and slowly implement water security programs intended to address the growing needs of the expanding populace. The LWUA approved the P25 rate adjustment in October 2020. 

Climaco previously released some P29.36 million in subsidies to help consumers pay their water and electric bills.  The P500 one-time cash subsidy to water concessionaires was credited to the account of all bonafide water concessionaires upon payment of their bill. 

In rejecting the increase in water rates, Climaco said the ZCWD has to first improve utility services and ensure clean supply of potable water to residents, among other woes locals have raised against the ZCWD which is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) which receives from the government subsidies and program funds. 

Subsidies cover the day-to-day operations of the GOCCs when revenues are insufficient, while program funds are given to profitable GOCCs to pay for a specific program or project. (Zamboanga Post)