Water crisis is over

THE month-long water crisis is over — “hopefully.”

The Cagayan de Oro Water District yesterday said it was expecting the water supply to return to its normal state after it was notified by Rio Verde Water Consortium Inc. that it has finished the repair of its damaged main underwater line across Cagayan River.

Ladelle Sagrado, COWD spokesperson, said the bulk water supplier started interconnecting the repaired pipe to the water district’s take-off point yesterday afternoon.

Sagrado said the COWD hoped that it was the end of the water crisis in western parts of the city and Opol town in Misamis Oriental that started in late September.

“Unless there [are] unfavorable developments that will happen after this restoration by Rio… hopefully, [it’s the] end [of the crisis],” Sagrado said.

The development came after Rio Verde requested for a week-long extension from its original commitment of restoring normal supply last Oct. 18.

COWD said some 24,953 connections were initially affected but gradually, the water supply was restored in 95 percent of these areas.

By Oct. 7, however, only 1,937 connections, mostly in Lumbia and Opol town, remained either waterless or with very intermittent supply. Water delivery has since been concentrated to these areas, according to COWD.

In an advisory, COWD said Rio Verde needed to cut off its water supply to COWD starting at around 1 pm yesterday to facilitate the interconnection.

She said the supply from Rio Verde was expected to resume at around 5 pm.

But the pressure build-up was expected to take at least two more hours or more before the water supply to the affected areas can be restored.

That meant very low pressure to no supply at all in the entire west service area of COWD during that period of interconnection. The affected areas: Bayabas, Bonbon, Lumbia, Balulang, Canitoan, Pagatpat, Kauswagan, Carmen to Opol in Misamis Oriental.

In an earlier advisory, COWD said it would take another day from the completion of the Rio Verde line repair for sufficient pressure to be built before normal supply to the affected areas can be restored. This means, according to COWD, that water cnsumers in Lumbia, those along Masterson Avenue and in elevated portions of Opol town may expect normal supply today.

Rio Verde shut down its main pipe in Sept. 26 after it was damaged. It’s first reason was that the line was damaged by strong river current and debris as a result of bad weather. Subsequently, it told a city council committee that the damage was a result of the earthquake and its aftershocks in late September. (herbie gomez)