The Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) celebrates its 34th anniversary Tuesday, September 18, 2007 with greater resolve and commitment to help accelerate the development of provincial water supply through its active involvement in the provision of safe potable water especially to the so-called "waterless municipalities" in support of one of the Arroyo administration's priority legacy programs.

The agency will mark its foundation day in a simple program at its head office in Balara, Quezon City with Department of Public Works and Highways secretary Hermogenes E. Ebdane as guest of honor and speaker. Top LWUA board and management officials headed by Administrator Orlando C. Hondrade and Board of Trustees Chairman Proceso T. Domingo will lead the celebration which will be highlighted by the presentation of a special plaque of recognition to Sec. Ebdane for his leadership and support in the development of basic social services infrastructures especially in the countryside.

LWUA officials are also expected to brief Sec. Ebdane on the agency's intermediate plans and programs for provincial water supply especially those pertaining to its involvement in accelerating the provision of safe potable water to the so-called "waterless communities" as identified by the Presidential National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC). Waterless communities are those where public access to safe potable water is below 50 percent of the existing population.

Sec. Ebdane in response to President Arroyo's directive for LWUA to also get involved in the so-called President's Priority Program on Water (P3W) targeting the identified waterless communities, has committed the release of an initial P150 million seed money from DPWH's P500-million P3W Fund to support LWUA's plan to put up communal faucet systems in 41 waterless municipalities with already existing local water districts.

According to Hondrade, there are about 113 municipalities with already existing local water districts in the country which are still classified as "waterless" on account of low public access to safe potable water. LWUA has already put up water systems in 30 of those, including in twelve municipalities and cities during the first six months of Hondrade's assumption as LWUA chief in January 2007. He added that with 41 more projects for on the pipeline under P3W, the remaining number of waterless communities with water districts will be reduced in half by next year.

With more funding from the P3W program, LWUA hopes to cover the remaining waterless communities with water districts in the next three years of the Arroyo administration wherein LWUA plans to complete 250 more projects in as many water districts to provide safe potable piped water to 1.5 million more Filipinos in the countryside, Hondrade said.

Between 2007 and 2010, LWUA plans to invest an additional P5.436 Billion towards the completion of an additional 250 water infrastructure projects to serve an additional 307,600 households or an additional 1.538 million people in 250 water districts to include waterless communities covered by water districts.

In specific terms, LWUA plans to complete Level Three water projects in 81 water districts in 2007 that will include 28 projects for waterless communities covered by water district; 61 projects in 2008; 54 projects in 2009 and another 54 projects in 2010 that will also include projects for waterless communities covered by water districts to determined in coordination with other agencies such as the NAPC.

LWUA was established on September18, 1973 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 198, as amended, also known as the Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973, purposely to promote the development of provincial water supply and wastewater disposal systems through the formation of and extension of development assistance to local entities known as water districts.
c September 14 , 2007