BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – South Balibago Resources, Inc. (SBRI) yesterday urged its consumers in Jaro district and Leganes, Iloilo to store enough water amid the temporary shutdown of its treatment facility in Barangay Bongco, Pototan, Iloilo.
This, despite the assurance of the bulk water supplier that it resumed “normal operations” amid the ongoing intrusion of salt water into its water treatment facility.
“We expect the water supply to be unstable until Thursday when the TDS levels return to normal. Please be assured that this is a temporary situation,” said SBRI in a statement.
But SBRI said it decided to temporarily shut down a water treatment after it recorded the TDS levels at 2000 parts per million (ppm).
“To maintain the quality of our product and ensure your safety, we have decided to temporarily shut down the plant until the TDS levels decrease,” the firm said.
The SBRI announced Sunday that it may temporarily shut down its water treatment plant in Barangay Bongco in Pototan town “due to a water quality issue.”
It said raw water entering their water treatment facility “has elevated levels of total dissolved solids (TDS).”
TDS is the term used to describe the inorganic salts and small amounts of organic matter present in solution in water, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
TDS in water can include a variety of substances including salts, minerals, organic matter, and other dissolved solids
TDS levels can affect the taste of water, and high TDS levels may indicate the presence of contaminants that could potentially be harmful to health.
At around 2 p.m. on Sunday, SBRI said they recorded TDS at 1060 parts per million (ppm) although “continuously decreasing.”
The accepted level of TDS is less than 600 parts per million, according to the Philippine National Standard for Drinking Water (PNSDW).
The water distributor firm also asked its consumers to “refrain from using our water for drinking or cooking until further notice” due to high TDS levels in the raw water.
While the water treatment process in their treatment plant removes many water contaminants, the SBRI said the elevated TDS levels may still affect the water quality.
SBRI said it temporarily shut down its treatment plant to ensure the safety and well-being of its consumers.
SBRI also urged its consumers to use alternative water sources for drinking and cooking such as bottled water or water from reliable sources and certified water refilling stations.
The water treatment plant in Barangay Bongco produces 10,000 cubic meters per day distributed to several subdivisions and three barangays of the Jaro district. The plant serves more than 12,000 households and establishments./PN
