AquAtlas has undertaken concrete steps towards the realization of the goals established a year ago

BULK WATER SUPPLY PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

In early 2006, the rehabilitation of the water processing plant at the Atlas mine site in Toledo City was completed. This has made possible the revival of the potable water supply for the mine site and the communities around it in preparation for the eventual re-opening of the mine after its rehabilitation is completed.

During the third quarter of the year, the Feasibility Study for the proposed 100,000 cubic meters per day bulk water supply for Metro Cebu was submitted to the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD). This was in compliance with an earlier Memorandum of Understanding signed between AquAtlas and MCWD offering to supply Metro Cebu with bulk potable water from the Atlas (Malubog) Dam located in Toledo City.

AquAtlas also proposed to upgrade the distribution system of MCWD to make sure that its system can absorb and deliver potable water to its clients at anytime and reduce its non-revenue water in the process.

The Feasibility Study was prepared by Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP). The water quality and quantity study, one of the major components of the report, was prepared by the Water Center of the University of San Carlos (USC). USC scientists and laboratory technicians monitored over a one year period the rainfall levels, rate of evaporation, contamination periods and all the other key parameters in determining the optimum delivery capacity and quality fluctuations of the proposed water supply from the 200 hectare Atlas dam. Records of the past 50 years were used as reference to extrapolate water supply levels that may be experienced by the project in the next 30 years.

One of the key findings of the Feasibility Study indicates that demand for water in Metro Cebu exceeds supply by a large margin, even assuming that all water supply proposals currently under consideration were to be accepted by MCWD.

Delivery of raw water to Metro Cebu from the Atlas dam will be made possible through a 12.3 kilometers gravity tunnel. This system will make sure that the operating cost of the raw water delivery system will not be affected even if the price of power increases over the life of the proposed bulk water supply contract

The proposed improvement in the water distribution system of MCWD is expected to recover some P450 million lost revenue yearly due to leaks and pilferage in the system. Severe shortage and high prices encourage the theft of water; thus, by making a large volume of water widely available to satisfy the need for water will result in lower and affordable water price. The easy availability and reasonable price of water will drastically reduce, if not eliminate, the current unregulated reliance on deep wells which has caused irreversible destruction in Cebu’s groundwater acquifers due to salt water intrusion. As established by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, it is the poor that suffer the most from high water prices and waterborne diseases when scarcity in water supply is prevalent.

Top