INQUIRER Global Nation

ILOILO CITY — Residents of Iloilo City and four neighboring towns will have little or no water supply for three days starting Thursday due to repair and upgrading of facilities damaged by the typhoon Frank in 2008.

The Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD), the sole water distributor of the city, said its consumers would experience from low water pressure to no supply from Thursday until Saturday.

MIWD services more than 30,000 connections in the seven district of Iloilo City and the towns of Cabatuan, Leganes, Maasin, Oton, Pavia, San Miguel and Sta. Barbara.

Edgar Calasara, MIWD officer-in-charge, said in a statement that the water utility would shut down its operations to undertake inter-connection repairs, construction and upgrading of supply lines and improve water supply.

These include the inter-connection of a by-pass line in Barangay (Village) Buntalan in Maasin town with a 24-inch pipeline in Amerang village in Cabatuan town. The MIWD is also conducting dredging operations on its ground reservoir due to sand and silt deposits.

Aside from Iloilo City, the towns of Pavia, Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan and Maasin will also be affected by the water service shutdown.

But the massive flooding triggered by typhoon Frank on July 21, 2008, the worst flood to hit Iloilo in recent years, severely affected water supply.

MIWD has implemented a water rationing system rotating its supply to its concessionaires. Businesses including hotels and restaurants have been complaining of the cost of hauling water to their establishments.

The flooding damaged the Badon Bridge in Amerang village in Cabatuan, resulting in the cutting-off of the 600-mm main transmission line laid out beside the bridge. The storm also damaged the structure of the intake dam in Maasin.

Damage to the main transmission line, which supplies 75 percent of the water to the treatment plant in Sta. Barbara town, has significantly reduced water supply by at least 40 percent to Iloilo City and the towns of Cabatuan, Sta. Barbara and Pavia. /Inquirer