P10B bulk water supply project to tap Tamugan

• Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2015/06/16/p10b-bulk-water-supply-project-tap-tamugan-413628
• Tuesday, June 16, 2015

By Ivy C. Tejano

DAVAO CITY Councilor Leonardo R. Avila III is asking the City Council in Tuesday’s regular session to support the plan of the Davao City Water District (DCWD) and Apo Agua Infrastructure Inc. (AAII) to tap the Tamugan river for the bulk water supply project here.

The P10 billion bulk water supply project is a joint venture between the DCWD and AAII that is aimed at providing the adequate, reliable, and sustainable water supply system to Davao City for the long term. The AAII is jointly owned by JV Angeles Construction Corporation and Aboitiz Equity Ventures.

“If Tamugan river will be tapped, the number of wells which are operating in Dumoy will be allowed to rest and so aquifer will have a chance to recharge itself to the level that is safe and which will assure our future generations of drinking water,” Avila said.

In 2007-2008, Avila said, there was a study conducted that showed that for water to fill up aquifers from the watershed, it will take an average of 50 years.

Avila pointed out a study that shows DCWD services 60 percent of the population from its Dumoy water source of which 98 percent of this population is connected to the DCWD. Dumoy is where the aquifers are.

“The study showed that the rate of the recharge wherein the water will recharge the aquifer and the rate of extraction of which we takeout the water will level off in 2013,” Avila said.

With this, Avila said, there is a need for the city to tap another source of water which is the surface. He added that the most appropriate river to supply the drinking needs of the city is the Tamugan river, which has a triple A in terms of potability, quality, and all other requirements for drinking water.

Avila also said that if the city cannot do it now, and if the rate of the extraction will continue to be higher than the rate of recharge, the possibility of land subsidence wherein the land in the Dumoy area, will collapse. He added that there is also the possibility of a salt water intrusion wherein the water from the Davao gulf will enter.

Manuel Orig, Aboitiz Power Corp. first vice president for Mindanao Affairs, said that this project will have a long-term implication to the water supply of Davao City.

This supply will be treated by a water treatment plant to be operated by a hydro electric power plant also using water from the Tamugan River. The hydro plant will be built and owned by AAI. This will also greatly enhance the capability of the DCWD to expand its water supply distribution coverage which presently covers only 60 percent of Davao City.

DCWD spokesperson Bernardo D. Delima, meanwhile, said that Apo Agua will construct the infiltration gallery, raw water transmission pipelines, water treatment plant, and treated water transmission pipelines while DCWD will be buying the treated water and the construction of the reservoir.

Apo Agua will supply up to 300 million liters per day (MLD) of potable bulk water from the Tamugan River to DCWD. On the other hand, JVACC will be the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the entire project.

Delima also said a mini-hydropower plant will also be constructed to power the facility.

“With this bulk water project, city’s water supply will be sourced mainly from surface water, not mainly from ground water sourced from aquifers which is presently the case. This is a major breakthrough as it will allow our aquifers to rest thus ensuring the long-term security of the water supply,” Avila said.

Once it will be completed, the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project will be the first of its kind in the country.