Mayor James “Bong” Gordon Jr. together with First Lady and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Director Ann Gordon (center) lead the ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the new filtration plant put up by private utility Subic Water and Sewerage Company Inc. Photo by Malou Dungog
OLONGAPO CITY—Residents from the northern half of this city will experience increased water pressure and wider service coverage with the formal commissioning of the new filtration facility of Subic Water and Sewerage Company Inc. (SUBICWATER), the private utility serving this area and the Subic Bay Freeport.
SUBICWATER Chairman Herbert Consunji, who led the inauguration rites yesterday, said the P50-million project has increased the water treatment capacity of the Mabayuan Water Treatment Plant (MWTP) by36-percent or ten million liters per day (MLD), and can now operate on a maximum capacity of 38 MLD.
The MWTP supplies water to more than 18,200 households and business establishments in the northern part of this city, which comprises barangays Kalaklan, Mabayuan, East and West Bajac-bajac, Sta. Rita, Gordon Heights, and Old Cabalan.
“With more water in the distribution network, pressure inside the pipes will increase.
This allows SUBICWATER to reach more households and establishments in MWTP’s service area of seven barangays, which are mountainous for the most part,” Consunji said during the simple ceremony held at the MWTP compound.
Attendees included Olongapo City Mayor James “Bong” Gordon Jr. together with First Lady and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Director Anne Gordon, Castillejos Mayor Jose Angelo Dominguez, other SUBICWATER top brass, officials of the Subic Bay Water Regulatory Board (SBWRB) led by Executive Regulator Marcelino Arreola, and staff of Barangay Mabayuan led by Hon. Robert Ferrer.
“The facilities that we build are not just mere mechanical structures. We in SUBICWATER see these in a completely different way— we see these as monuments that honor our pledge— our commitment— to provide safe, clean, abundant, and affordable water to the people of Olongapo andSubic Bay Freeport,” Consunji declared.
The newly-commissioned facility, according to SUBICWATER General Manager Edna Canlas, is a flagship project constructed under the company’sP164-million capital expenditure program in 2011, along with aP50.4-million sewage treatment plant (STP) that was put up inside Subic Bay Freeport.
It features fully-automated controls that can be operated by one person only, as opposed to manual controls before that take two to three persons to handle. The filter also has a dewatering system to treat the sludge generated from the filtration process, added Canlas.
This capex project, which sits on a 425-square meter lot inside the MWTP compound, replaced the 9-MLD filter which served Olongapo City since the 1940s.
“Sadly, we had to demolish the ‘historic’ filter for this project since MWTP’s11,140-square meter space has already been occupied by our mixing tank, two 19-MLD clarifiers, two 19-MLD filters, storage facilities, and office quarters, among others,” she said.
Even with limited space, SUBICWATER was able to upgrade the MWTP’s water production capability using modern technology, according to Canlas.
“SUBICWATER is always looking ahead, always making sure that we can produce water that Olongapo City’s robust economy demands,” she said.
SUBICWATER implemented the first built-operate-and-transfer (BOT) scheme for a water and sewerage system in Asia when it took over the water supply and sewerage system of the Subic Bay Freeport and Olongapo City in April 1997.
The firm, which was formed by a joint-venture agreement in 1996, is owned by Filipino construction firm DM Consunji Inc. (DMCI), Singaporean water specialist Sembcorp. Industries Ltd. (Sembcorp), SBMA, and the City Government of Olongapo.
