By Minerva Newman
CEBU CITY – A leading bulk water company in Cebu is offering its excess water production to people and local government units affected by El Niño in Cebu and other parts of the country where it has outlets.
Antonio Tumpar, president and chief operating officer of Mactan Rock Industries, Inc. (MRII), said the company has 36 desalination plants and 26 river water clarifier/filter plants from Aparri to Cotabato, and each plant has an excess production of 300 cubic meters.
(MARK BALMORES / MANILA BUILLETIN)
“Starting March 13 free water is available at our plants. In Cebu people can fetch free water in areas near SM-Mabolo, Old White Gold building, Waterfront-Lahug, and in barangay outlets in Cebu. Mactan where our biggest plant is located is considered as a loading point,” Tumpar said.
The free water service will last until the end of El Niño.
The free water can be drawn from MRII outlets from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, he said.
LGUs in Cebu can draw water from Mactan Rock in barrels for as long as it is distributed for free to the people and not sold, Tumpar said.
He hopes other water providers in Cebu would also offer free water in other El Niño-affected areas not served by MRII.
Low water supply has been a recurring problem in the country but it can be remedied through desalination technology, river water clarifier and filter and even harnessing rain water to produce safe, clean and potable water for all, Tumpar said.
“In Metro Cebu alone with its early two million population, it needs an estimated of more than 400,000 cubic meters of water per day,” he bared.
Tumpar said the desalination process will not affect the supply of ground water, the oceans and the seas are vast. “We have the technology and would be cheaper to set up than getting foreign water contractors here,” he added.