DUMAGUETE CITY – Metro Dumaguete Water, a Joint Venture company between the Dumaguete City Water District (DCWD) and the Metro Pacific Water (MPW), has begun upgrading the main water pipelines connecting to the Pumping Station (PS20) in barangay Buñao, in a bid to increase water supply in the City’s northern and eastern barangays.  

David Berba, the MDW chief operating officer, said the pipelaying project last Monday sought to replace the two-inch main pipeline with a 10-inch pipeline that would double the water supply from 2.5 million liters per day (MLD) to 5 MLD.  

This pipe upgrading project is expected to benefit water consumers in barangays Buñao, Motong, Pulangtubig, lower Camanjac, Batinguel, Bantayan, Daro and Piapi beginning first quarter of 2023.  

Berba said the other zones in the Dumaguete water system will also be upgraded to fulfill the MDW commitment to improve water pressure and supply within a five-year period. 

Joining the pipe-laying activity were DCWD General Manager Engr. Roderick Diaz, Supreme Mega Structure Builders, Inc. Managing Officer Engr. Lawrence Limkaichong, and Barangay Captain Gina Ablay of Bunao to kick off the start of the project.  

Berba also announced the lowering of the water losses, also called Non-Revenue Water, from a high of 46% in February 2021 to 40% as of July. “And so as we continue our efforts to repair leaks, we now need to start massive replacement of old pipelines to further reduce our water losses,” said Berba. 

 Pumping station 20 in Bunao was upgraded last April which led to an increase in the water supply but the replacement of the 2 kilometer pipeline will allow MDW to maximize this and help efficiently distribute the water supply to the critical barangays, Berba added.