DUMAGUETE CITY – Residents of barangays Buñao, Bantayan, Daro, Piapi and lower Camanjac have reported better water pressure after Metro Dumaguete Water completed the upgrading of Pumping Station 20 in barangay Buñao Tuesday.
David Berba, MDW Chief Operating Officer, said this activity, which was initially scheduled later this month, was expedited to allow improvements to be felt during the Holy Week.
“We have a number of projects set throughout this year which will allow improvements to be gradually felt by the public and the pump upgrading program is the first of many,” Berba said.
Apart from the replacement of the submersible pump and motor, electrical enhancements were also made to the pumping station by adding a surge protection system to help mitigate the effects of low voltage and power outages.
MDW conducted a month-long deep well study in May 2021 to determine the conditions of all 20 deep wells. The upgrading in Pumping Station 20, Berba added, is now one of the fruits of that exercise.
“Through the comprehensive studies we have made last year, we were able to formulate and strategize where we can first make changes and provide immediate results,” shared Berba.
Parallel to the projects in place, MDW has been aggressive in leak detection and repairs. In fact, according to Berba, the Non-Revenue Water Team was able to fix leaks in the downtown area which was able to immediately increase pressure by 5 PSI.
Water leaks now account for 43 percent of the total water produced by the City’s 20 pumping stations. This is an improvement from the 46 percent water losses recorded when MDW started operations last year.
The MDW is a Joint Venture company between the Dumaguete City Water District and the Metro Pacific Water, which started operations last February 1.
In addition to the pump upgrading program, MDW plans to build two more deep wells and two water reservoirs to address the increasing demand in water supply. More pipelines are also scheduled to be installed within the year to improve the distribution of the additional supply brought about the new wells.
