BACOLOD City – The Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) needs a “huge amount” to address several water delivery problems, according to its general manager Juliana Carbon.
Carbon wrote Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran a letter dated June 11 explaining why the water district has to increase its water rate from P208 for the first 10 cubic meters to P248.
The letter was in response to the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s Resolution No. 494 series of 2018 which requested Baciwa to justify the proposed P40 rate increase.
“The water district needs huge amount of capitalization to address the problem on water supply shortage, reduction of non-revenue water, pipeline replacement, and expansion of distribution lines amounting to P1.9 billion for a period of 10 years or approximately P190 million per year,” part of the letter read.
Carbon also stressed that Baciwa – even though government-owned – does not receive financial subsidy from the national government, local government or the Local Water Utilities Administration.
The water district’s operation is “100 percent financed through the internally generated funds collected from water sales and other incidental income in relation to water sales, such as penalties and other service income, and collection from water line extensions,” Carbon said.
Carbon added that the water rate increase will be the first time after almost nine years./PN
