The convenience of individually piped and potable water twenty-four hours a day, will be available to more than 90,000 households (equivalent to a population of 500,000) once the Comprehensive Water Supply System Improvement Project - Phase II, San Jose Del Monte City Water District (SJDMCWD) is completed.

The Phase II Project consists of the construction of an additional water treatment plant, capable of processing 30,000 cubic meters of raw water per day from the Angat-Umiray Transbasin Project, and laying of more than 40 kilometers of water pipeline. Worth P547 Million, the Project is funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) through the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).
The treatment plant is currently in partial manual operation as the water district awaits the final report by its foreign consultants on the testing and commissioning stage. It is expected to be fully operational by the first quarter of 2007 with the pipelines having been completely laid as early as January, 2006.

Aside from augmenting water supply for the existing service areas the new treatment plant, upon full activation, will expand water service coverage and provide sufficient water supply up to the year 2010 to approximately 40,000 additional households, mostly resettled families from nearby Metro Manila. The tapping of surface water is also part of the effort of SJDMCWD to completely veer away from the extraction of groundwater, which is becoming less dependable because of salt water intrusion, Bulacan being in the list of water critical areas identified by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The SJDMCWD has an existing treatment plant, which processes 20,000 cumd from the Angat - Umiray Transbasin Project and is being distributed to more than 28,000 families in the Sapang Palay resettlement area. More than 30 groundwater serve more than 28,000 families in areas outside Sapang Palay, pending full operation of the second treatment plant.

Engr. Lorie Limcolioc, general manager of the SJDMCWD said, "We are eyeing a third phase of this Project so we can provide 100% service coverage. We like to think that one of the reasons why people come to San Jose Del Monte City is the availability of safe and potable water, and the efficiency and quality of the service we due to provide."

GM Limcolioc has a reason to be proud and confident - the SJDMCWD was adjudged Most Outstanding Water District in Luzon (Large Category) for the year 2006. The goal of the awards, according to LWUA, is "to strike a balance between service and viability. In other words, a good water district should not only be financially sound, but should also be capable of serving its target population with adequate supply of potable water."

GM Limcolioc himself is a semi-finalist in the annual search of the Civil Service Commission for the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award, an award for outstanding civil servants who have made significant contributions for the furtherance of the program of the national government.
c March 20 , 2007