The Baguio Water District estimates around Php5 million worth of damage to its various facilities after Typhoon Ompong crossed the northern part of Luzon last September 15, 2018.
Around Php4.42M initial cost of damage was assessed even as the water supply in affected areas has been fully restored last September 21, 2018.
BWD General Manager Engr. Salvador M. Royeca said over a live radio interview with DZEQ Radyo ng Bayan on September 24, 2018 that the estimate only include materials and equipment needed without labor costs.
The facility that sustained the most damage is the Pinesville deepwell (Php1.2M) where collapsed electrical posts damaged transformers and accessories including the pump and its motor unit and transmission lines with an approximate length of 40 meters.
The other damaged facilities are: Camp 7-1 deepwell (Php900K); Sto. Tomas transmission line (Php500K), Ambiong to Pacdal transmission line (Php400K), Stage 1 sources (Php400K), Amliang sources (Php 350K), Amliang transmission line along Digdigwayan and TipTop (Php300K), Camp 8 deepwell (Php200), Amparo pumping station (Php150K) and BGH distribution line (Php20K).
The temporary water supply problem affected various areas particularly in the southern part of the city but was partially managed as early as September 18, 2018. Repairs were completed six (6) days after the onslaught of the typhoon leading to normalization of about 90% of the water supply.
“We assure that the repairs applied are not just temporary repairs, except for a few where remedial measures had to be undertaken to immediately restore water supply but at all cost, we make sure that it will not take long for water supply to be restored,” said Royeca who also pointed that rethinking and redesigning Baguio City’s water system is timely and needed to be well-prepared for such natural occurrences like typhoons.
Meanwhile, Royeca said that water supply restoration costs on the facilities will be shouldered by the District and are not passed on to consumers. ** Mark Victor Pasagoy/BWD
