THE HOUSE of Representatives has committed to help the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) reduce its water system loss, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said in a statement on Sunday.
“The ongoing deliberations of the House committee on appropriations on the proposed P5.768-trillion budget for 2024 is the perfect opportunity to explore solutions, including the rehabilitation of water supply systems and modernization of the LWUA,” he said.
LWUA Chairman Ronnie L. Ong last week sought the House’s help in cutting the almost 30% annual water system loss of water districts under its jurisdiction.
The water districts yielded an average nonrevenue water rate of 29.34%, he said, which results in a 488-million cubic meter water loss annually or more than half the 850-million cubic meter capacity of Angat Dam, Mr. Ong said.
A reduced nonrevenue water supply will actually mean more affordable water because it would lower production costs and water supply interruptions, Mr. Ong told Mr. Romualdez in a meeting last week.
“Patching up water system losses means more water for all at a time when El Niño remains a very serious threat to our daily convenience and food production,” the Speaker said in the statement.
The LWUA is a specialized lending institution that promotes, finances and oversees the development of water supply systems in cities and municipalities outside Metro Manila. It has 532 water districts nationwide. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
