The Zamboanga City Water District is lifting the water rationing effective today, July 4.
The onset of the 2016 rainy season driven by monsoon or “habagat” which the city experienced during the months of May and June brought about an almost normal rainfall which slowly stabilized the dam level to normal and steady rise in Zamboanga City Water District daily production level.
Based upon the recommendations of the ZCWD Production Department Manager Engr. Teotimo C. Reyes, Jr. and concurred by Engr. Alejo S. Rojas Jr. Assistant General Manager for Operation, said that for the month of June 2016 the lowest river stream flow recorded as of June 28, 2016 was 5,171 cubic meters per hour (m3/hr). The Surface Water Production Facility (Water Treatment Plant & Old Reservoir) requires only about 5,000 m3/hr of raw water to sustain its normal water production and cater to the demand of its customers.
As early as the last quarter of 2015, ZCWD had already advised the public to start conserving water as the strong El Niño will hit the city and will last until the 2nd quarter of 2016. 57,000 ZCWD customers were affected as the district implemented water rationing schedule last January 8 of 8 hours with water and the subsequent implementation of the every-other-day water rationing last March 21 to stretch the thin water supply to cater to as many customers.
However, some areas are still expected to experience low or no water during rainy days due to highly turbid (malubog) water caused by landslides (“timpak”) brought about by heavy rains at the watershed areas. This occurrences will require the frequent backwashing (cleaning) of filters to ensure that the water passes the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW).
This activity greatly reduces the water production output of ZCWD treatment plant in Pasonanca as the water used for backwashing is clean water intended to be distributed to the customers.
Some areas are also expected to experience low water pressure or no water due to the regular maintenance and upgrade of the water distribution and service pipelines. The ZCWD regularly issues advisories to the public before the conduct of such activities. Customers can also visit the District’s website and FB page for updates.
ZCWD still urges the public to help conserve water and immediately report leaks, illegal use of booster pumps and other illegal water connections .
To report or for any concern please call ZCWD Customer Care Division 955 – 1007 to 1008; WTP 991 – 1553 to 1554 loc. 108 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM or visit our web page @ https://www.zcwd.gov.ph or FB page @https://www.facebook.com/ZamboangaCityWaterDistrict for updates.
Raul Ruben Rivera, Jr. CREAS, CorPlan, ZCWD