WATER SOURCE. Lake Danao in Ormoc City is identified as a major source of the proposed Ormoc Water Supply System Project. Plans have been laid out to ensure a stable water supply to 82 percent of communities in Ormoc City in the next 25 years, the local government announced on Friday (Aug. 13, 2021). (Photo courtesy Ormoc City government)
TACLOBAN CITY – Ormoc City is eyeing Lake Danao as part of its plan to develop an alternative source to ensure a stable water supply to 82 percent of its communities in the next 25 years.
“By year 2045, Ormoc City is projected to have a water deficit of around 26 megaliters per day, which highlights the importance of developing an alternative, dependable and sustainable source of water,” Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez said in a statement on Friday.
In the same statement, the city government said officials from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center presented the results of the feasibility study on projects to explore where to draw the water supply.
In a project briefer posted by the PPP Center on its website, bulk water supply will be drawn from Lake Danao and other possible sources, including the Inawasan River.
The lake has been one of the sources of water for six Leyte towns and Tacloban City, but it has not been tapped to provide water for Ormoc.
The project aims to provide an uninterrupted water supply facility with a source, a reservoir, a piped distribution network with an adequate treatment facility, and household taps.
A reservoir will be set up and a new pipeline from bulk water will also be built to augment the interconnection of existing pipelines.
The project will also establish a clarifier and filtration gallery to improve the quality of the water.
It is seen to upgrade the water supply in 28 service areas.
Earlier, the city government said they are eyeing loans from state-run banks to finance the long-term water supply project. The estimated cost is PHP2 billion.
Public bidding is set next month for interested contractors to work on the Ormoc Water Supply System Project.
The completion of the project will shut down the existing 26 pumping stations and convert these into standby water sources. These pumping stations were damaged by a powerful quake that rocked Leyte Island in mid-2017.
The present water system is run by 26 pumping stations with a low overhead water reservoir, resulting in very limited water pressure, depriving many of the residents of their needed water.
At present, the city's water supply comes from various sources including underground water and river.
The existing water system only supplies about 70 percent of the requirement of the city’s 25,000 water concessionaires, Gomez said.
Around 61.5 percent of Ormoc’s population are connected to a piped distribution network with an adequate treatment facility.
Ormoc is a first-class independent component city in Leyte province with a population of 230,998 in 110 villages, making it the second-most-populous city in the province Leyte.
The city is the economic, cultural, commercial, and transportation hub of western Leyte. (PNA)
