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About
the Area
Area
9 is a composite of Regions 9,10, and the Autonomous
Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which also
covers parts of northern, central and western
Mindanao. These provinces are Zamboanga del
Norte & Sur, Basilan, Lanao del Norte &
Sur, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the last three comprising
the ARMM.
Chartered
cities in the area are Dipolog & Dapitan
in Zamboanga del Norte; Zamboanga and Pagadian
in Zamboanga del Sur; Ozamis, Oroquieta and
Tangub in Misamis Occidental; Marawi in Lanao
del Sur; Cotabato City in Maguindanao; and Isabela
City in Basilan.
Region
9 alone is located in the southwestern section
of the Philippines. It is bounded on the north
by the Sulu Sea; on the south by the Celebes
Sea; and on the east by the provinces of Misamis
Occidental and Lanao del Norte. The provinces
of Zamboanga del Norte and Sur and Basilan,
and the cities of Dapitan, Dipolog, Pagadian
and Zamboanga occupy a total land area of 15,997
square kilometers. The region is rich in natural
resources and has a skilled labor force, but
the people of Western Mindanao have been reported
as the most economically battered. In the latest
survey of income and expenditure, the region
posted the lowest average income, third to Bicol
and Eastern Visayas regions.
Water
supply development
Sources
of water can be classified into surface water
(rivers, lakes, streams, and creeks), and groundwater.
Western Mindanao has 26 river basins with a
total drainage area of 16,425 sq. km. Eight
of the rivers have been identified as major
ones. Half of the eight can be found in Zamboanga
del Norte and the rest in Zamboanga del Sur.
Of the 194 towns and cities in those provinces,
there are 32 active water districts. The active
ones were granted as of April, 2001 by the Local
Water Utilities Administration a total of P666.988
million of which P586.229 million were availed.
This financial assistance produced a total 23
major projects now being implemented. There
are 114,377 total service connections serving
686,262 total population. These water districts
have a 96.3% collection efficiency from the
concessionaires while non-revenue water stands
at 34%.
Zamboanga
City Water District is the area's Godfather
Water District, also houses the LWUA-coordinated
regional training center and the regional information
center.
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