By GENEVIEVE CANTOR Correspondent THE Cagayan de Oro Water District is losing some 80 thousand cubic meters daily due to leaks, and efforts are now being made to prevent this so as to improve the city’s supply of tap water. COWD general manager Rachel Beja said the wasted water represent some 53 percent of the COWD water supply that should be finding its way to homes and commercial establishments. She admitted that the leaks have become a major problem, and the “high level” of wasted water was due to leaking and aging pipes, and theft. Beja said the COWD hopes to address the problem through the Non-Revenue Water Reduction Program that was launched early this week. She said the aim is to provide the city a more adequate supply of water in spite of projections of water scarcity in Mindanao due to climate change. Beja noted that the COWD has slowly set up the infrastructure for tap water supply for four decades, and that the thrust now is to ensure that the city would have a sufficient water supply. The NRW Reduction Program would be carried out with technical assistance from the US Agency for International Development (Usaid), and the Coca-Cola Foundation. Beja said the Usaid would help in setting up new equipment to monitor water wastes and leaking pipes, and protect the COWD system from thieves. Usaid would provide technical expertise in the development of a database, in defining and assisting in the initial implementation of district metering areas, and in training COWD personnel involved in management, maintenance, and analyses of data. Beja said the rehabilitation  would focus on the:
  • Macasandig pump station which is the heart of the COWD operation;
  • water connections in the city proper that would be subdivided into several district metering areas;
• water connections in Barangay Carmen.