By JOEY NACALABAN
Correspondent .
THE water supply from the Manny V. Pangilinan-controlled Cagayan de Oro Bulkwater Inc. (Cobi) nosedived yesterday morning, leaving over 40 thousand of the Cagayan de Oro Water District’s residential and commercial customers with very little or no water supply at all.
There has been no attempt from the bulk water supplier’s part to offer an explanation for the drop in the supply at presstime. Its designated spokesperson, JP Pasaylo, did not answer calls from this paper.
The situation was aggravated when the COWD’s booster station in Balulang slowed down because of damaged pumps. The damages reduced the station’s capacity by 50 percent.
Ladelle Sagrado, COWD spokesperson, said the water flow from Cobi dropped from 1,667 cubic meters per hour (cmph) to 500 cmph at 10 am. But the flow increased to 2,000 cmph by 11 am.
The sudden drop, she said, adversely affected the supply intended for over 40 thousand COWD customers.
“(It) has caused the unscheduled supply interruption in the west service area,” reads part of a COWD advisory.
As of noon time, there was still no explanation from Cobi, said Sagrado.
Cobi, a firm created by a 2017 joint venture agreement between the Pangilinan-owned Metro Pacific Water Investments Inc. and COWD, has committed to supply to the water district 60 thousand cubic meters of treated water per day or 2,500 cmph.
Sagrado said Cobi has supplied an average of 1,667 cmph since January because it was still in the process of repairing parts of the supply infrastructure damaged by storm Vinta in December 2017.
But Sagrado said, “There have been times they are able to deliver 2,000-2,100 cmph.”
The Cobi supply improved in March when the firm delivered an average of 2,000 cmpd although there were brief disruptions, she said.
“But they are able to recover and make up for the shortfall soon enough,” she said.
Sagrado said Cobi has informed COWD that it would be able to deliver 2,500 cmph by the middle of the month.
COWD general manager Bienvenido Batar Jr. confirmed that Cobi’s water delivery was disrupted yesterday morning and that the supply resumed shortly before noon time.
Asked if he knew the reason for the disruption, Batar said, “We were not able to contact Cobi this morning.”
Damages to two of COWD’s four pumps in its Balulang booster station also contributed to the supply shortfall.
Batar said the pumps in the booster station were relatively new.
“Our technical men are assessing the damage. We will be reinstalling an old pump that is more conventional,” he said.
Batar also said COWD would be procuring a pump on emergency and reinstall a back-up pump today.
COWD said the problems with Cobi and the booster station in Balulang resulted in low water pressure, and even a disruption of the water supply in many areas.
Sagrado said she was informed that there were areas in Barangay Patag where there was very little water supply.
The situation, she said, would remain “until sufficient pressure has been built, and (the) Balulang booster (station) is 100% restored.”
COWD chairman Eduardo Montalvan described the problem with Cobi and the COWD’s booster station as “gamay nga breakdown.”
He said Cobi has sent notice that “they need to fix the pipe that supplies the water to us.” (with reports from herbie gomez)
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