Despite the Baguio Water District (BWD) upping its yearly expansion of deep well coverage to 10 wells annually, Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that the city will be looking to explore bulk water options in the future as well expansions are expected to be insufficient to keep up with growing demand.
“We will be doing 10 wells a year as long as we can support it, but it will not be enough eventually. We have to explore other options, and that is bulk water,” Magalong said.
Bulk water, or acquiring water delivery supplies from outside of Baguio, has been eyed by the city government for some time.
However, the move to acquire a bulk water deal with Benguet is stalled out by its prohibitive costs.
According to Magalong, under current projections, a bulk water deal with Benguet would cause the rates for socialized water in the city to skyrocket by at least 96 percent, which would be in violation of the country’s laws regulating socialized water rates.
However, the city has recently acquired assistance in progressing its transition to bulk water in the form of technical assistance from the British Embassy, which the city will be utilizing to conduct a study to hash out a proper plan for bulk water that would lower its costs from the initial projections.
Initial plans to tap water sources in Itogon town, Benguet would require tapping to depths of more than a kilometer with 5 levels of pumping infrastructure, and at least 23 kilometers of pipelines.
The BWD is also considering an increase in the city’s current outdated water tariffs to fund supply expansion projects, with an initial proposal of 30 percent, which will translate to the average household having to pay an additional 98 pesos a month.
