The Quezon City government will implement various initiatives to save water amid the scheduled water service interruption that will affect several of its barangays.
Numerous Quezon City barangays will experience daily water service interruptions of up to 11 hours starting Wednesday due to the decrease in the water level of Angat Dam, according to water utility Maynilad.
Mayor Joy Belmonte has instructed City Engineer Atty. Dale Perral to install and operate rain harvesting systems on city-owned buildings, including schools.
“This system can store up to 6,000 liters of rainwater, which can be used for various purposes,” Belmonte said.
“Malaki ang maitutulong nito para mapagaan ang epekto ng water interruption sa ating lungsod, lalo na sa mga komunidad na maaapektuhan ng water interruption,” she added.
Perral said the city government also has ongoing and upcoming retention basin projects that can help store up to 200,000 gallons of water.
“While retention basins are used for flood mitigation, they can also be a source of stored rainwater,” Perral explained.
He added that the Mayor also ordered the Infrastructure Committee (Infracomm) to look into the possible use of drip irrigation technology for ornamental plants and the city’s urban farms.
“Through this, we can optimize the use of available water supply for the various urban farms that are flourishing in our city,” he said.
The city government is also closely coordinating with water companies, especially to mitigate against water loss by repairing leaks.
“We encourage water companies with ongoing infrastructure projects like pipe laying and leak repairs to coordinate closely with the city government to ensure less public inconvenience. In the same manner, we are encouraging them to install water meters right beside government and school buildings and not too far from their compounds to immediately address possible water loss from leaks,” he said.
Belmonte also instructed the Barangay and Community Relations Department (BCRD) to closely coordinate with Maynilad for the schedule of the tankers that will provide water to affected barangays.
The QC Public Affairs and Information Services Department (PAISD) and Quezon City Citizen Services Department, on the other hand, will closely coordinate with the water concessionaires for the early release and dissemination of water interruption schedules on the official website and social media pages of the city government.
Since 2019, the city through the Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department has been active in campaigning for responsible water use. Mayor Belmonte supported this through an issued memorandum to all city departments, and barangays to use water responsibly and promote responsible water management.
All foregoing initiatives of the city government are being consolidated and harmonized under the city’s Task Force El Niño, to be institutionalized by virtue of an Executive Order from the City Mayor.
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