Province fast-tracks water projects

ILOILO CITY — Mayor Raisa Treñas is pushing for faster completion of the city’s water distribution system to reduce reliance on shallow wells, following findings that groundwater extraction may be among the factors contributing to land subsidence in some areas.

Treñas said the city government is closely coordinating with Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW) and the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) to ensure that planned water system improvements are delivered.

“This is what we are really focusing on — the water distribution system in the city. In fact, every month, or twice a month when necessary, I meet with our water distributor, MPIW and MIWD to make sure the deliverables we are asking for are delivered,” Treñas said.

She said pipe-laying and the replacement of aging water lines are ongoing, along with efforts to extend water services to areas without connections.

MPIW has 20 pipe-laying projects scheduled for 2026 and another 10 for 2027. The projects cover about 157 kilometers of water lines, with more than 60 barangays and around 171,000 residents expected to benefit.

“Some of our pipes are already very old. That’s why we are doing repiping. We are also looking at other areas and working them out with our water distributor to make sure that areas that were not previously served will now be covered,” Treñas said.

The city is also pursuing modular desalination projects with a combined capacity of five million liters per day for 2026 and 2027. The first 1-MLD facility is targeted to become operational before the end of 2026.