Daet, Camarines Norte---- The Camarines Norte Water District (CNWD), operator of water supply system for this capital town and seven other nearby towns in this Bicol province, has requested the financial and technical assistance of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) for the development of three potential surface water sources, including two rivers, to ensure long-term supply sufficiency for its growing concessionaires.

CNWD general manager Antoinette Boma said the water district is seeking the assistance of LWUA and/or other interested private investors/BOT proponents in the development of its first surface water sources in Mampurog River and Dapdap Spring situated in the towns of Lorenzo Ruiz and Labo, respectively, to address rising water demands.

Boma said the water district is also asking assistance in the development of the Pagsangahan River in Basud town to resolve the problem of low water pressure in the municipality which is at the farthest end of the existing CNWD water system.

According to Boma, the development of the Mampurog River and Dapdap Spring will help in improving water pressure and supply availability particularly in the Basud and southern Daet areas. She added that it will also provide for increasing water demand as a result of the growing population while at the same time alleviate inadequate water at the elevated portions and exteremities of the existing CNWD system. Estimated funding requirement of the Dapdap Spring development is P74 million while the Mampurog River development will cost around P150 million, Boma said.

The Mampurog River project will feature the construction of a filtration/chlorination treatment plant at Barangay Dagotdotan in Lorenzo Ruiz town where water from the river will be collected and treated. Initial filtration of the raw water will first be done in an infiltration gallery from where the water will flow through a 2.4 kilometer long 500mm. diameter steel pipeline going to the filtration/chlorination plant for final treatment and disinfection. From the filtration plant, a 7.9 kilometer-long pipeline will carry the water to the existing distribution line in Daet.

Boma said the CNWD board of directors has already submitted a resolution asking LWUA's financial assistance for the development of the Pagsangahan River in Basud including the installation of transmission lines. She said the development of the river source is in line with the national government's program to bring water to the so-called waterless communities.

Basud is one of the waterless municipalities identified by the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) which have less than 50 percent of population having access to safe potable water supply. Boma said there are less than 1,000 active service connectors in Basud which is below half of the town's total households.

LWUA has already forwarded the CNWD project proposals for possible funding by multilateral agencies such as the Japan international Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Kreditanstalt fur Weideraufbau (KfW) of Germany.

LWUA engineering however has recommended that for the time being, the CNWD should first optimize the utilization of its existing as well as potential groundwater resources which it said are still very much adequate and relatively less costly to develop, operate and maintain in meeting near future water demands.

c April 28, 2008