Cotabato (CNN Philippines, October 31)— Kidapawan City and nearby towns are currently facing a water shortage after the 6.5 Magnitude earthquake Thursday morning destroyed main water pipelines.
The earthquake triggered landsllides that damaged major water pipelines, the Metro Kidapawan Water District (MKWD) reported on Friday.
Landslides damaged main pipelines in Saguing River Dam in Barangay Perez, MKWD said. The dam supplies 70 percent of Kidapawan City’s water consumption.
Several barangays of Matalam, including Poblacion, depend solely on MKWD for their water needs.
MKWD Assistant Manager for Operations Engineer Sandy Alqueza said a two-hectare wide avalanche swept away four of their main pipelines.
The repair of the damaged pipelines would take them 5 to 7 days, according to Alqueza.
In Makilala, landslides also destroyed pipelines in Ilian Spring located in Barangay Buhay and Puagan Spring in Barangay Batasan.
The Puagan Spring line was immediately restored but Ilian Spring was still being repaired ahead of the weekend. Ilian Spring supplies half of Makilala’s water consumption.
In Magpet, water pipelines in Barangay Bongolanan were also destroyed by the landslides.
This left Barangay Poblacion and nearby areas waterless.
Water rationing stations were established in Purok Uno Barangay Marbel and Barangay Manongol where water is now being given away for free.
But the water district also delivers water to users for a fee — ₱2,600 per 20 drums.
Alqueza said the fee is used to cover their operational costs.
On the other hand, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it is closely monitoring prices of bottled water.
For now, DTI Provincial Director Ferdinand Cabiles said prices of bottled water remains reasonable.
He said except for a few retail stores, prices of bottled water in convenience stores are at levels prior to the earthquakes.
Cabiles urged the public to report stores that “overprice” basic commodities so that appropriate disciplinary actions can enforced against them.
