LTWD ADDRESSES ARTIFICIAL ‘WATER SHORTAGE, ‘ADOPTS WATER SCHEDULING

April 26, 2024 Provincial

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet

Residents in this capital town are facing ‘artificial’ water shortages as numerous deep wells have reached abnormal
water, resulting to the decrease of production caused by the summer heat compounded by the dryspell, the La Trinidad Water District Office (LTWDO) said. Affected areas are in Barangays Wangal, Shilan, Puguis, Pico, and Lubas. The insufficient water supply is also brought increase number of consumers especially in service arreas ,
resulting to high demand. However, Ambiong, Capjaran (Pico), Balili, and Buyagan still have a stable water supply.

As this developed, the LTWDO has taken measures to address the issue by implementing water scheduling and has expedite the constructions of additional deep wells. As of March 31, La Trinidad has a total of 19,425 water consumers, classified into various categories such as Residential, Government, Commercial/Industrial, and Retail/Wholesale. However, the increasing population is outpacing the development of water sources, especially with the municipality’s proximity to Baguio City, attracting a significant number of students annually.

LTWD said, currently, the estimated daily water production recorded at 11, 935.13 cubic meters and 369, 989 cubic meters a month, significantly bit higher compared to the same period last year. To meet the growing demand, LTWD plans to construct two new deep wells annually. At present, LTWDO is operating 18 deep wells, strategically located across the municipality. Last year, two deep wells located in BSU Compound and Sadjap, respectively were completed. The total project cost was P11.8 million.

In fact, two more deep wells (Poblacion and Cruz) are currently under construction with total cost of P12.5 million.
Other water source are springs in Lubas,Ampasit Spring , Pines Park, Balili, and Marvin Covano supported by filtration plant contribute to the water supply. In an interview with Engr. Oliver Taule, LTWDO general manager, said explained that deep well projects typically take 3-4 months to finalize, but this can vary according to the
availability of resources.

Taule said problems they encounter in the construction of deep wells are – location or availability of drill sites and right of way. And town’s groundwater is very poor and weak. To ensure water quality, LTWDO ensures that its water supply is safe. It conducts regular monthly bacteriological analysis where they collect and bring samples from sources and terminals (houses) to DOST for testing to ensure that the water quality reaches the standard.

Also, annually, the water district does physical and chemical tests where they bring samples to Intertek, Makati for testing. Taule also commended the newly formed ‘Local Water Monitoring Council for La Trinidad’ by Mayor Romeo Salda which aims to guarantee the water quality of all water suppliers in the municipality. Following Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), aside from deep well projects, LTWD joins clean-up drives, watershed management, tree planting, and technical assistance in the water systems within and outside the municipality all for free without fee.

Maedelyn P. Lumiwan- UB intern/ABN