DEVELOP CEBU FIRST’

	9/20
Island has untapped water sources, say experts By Cris Evert B. Lato Reporter Cebu does not need to tap water from Bohol. Cebu island's 120 rivers and several falls and springs can be developed to supply the water needs for thirsty Cebuanos, said Cebu Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez. If Cebu can successfully generate water from these sources and add it to existing capacity, Sanchez said around 500,000 cubic meters will be made available to consumers every day. “That is more than enough supply against the demand,” said Sanchez, a civil engineer. Metro Cebu has a total demand of 300,000 cubic meters daily for its 118,000 water subscribers spread from Liloan town in the north to Talisay City in the south, according to the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD). Demand is growing two to three percent every year. Sanchez said that if the Capitol’s Trans-axial Highway project will take off, it would be easier to proceed with the engineering works in connecting pipelines to distribute water to different parts of Metro Cebu. No bidding has been held yet or fund source identified for the highway, estimated to cost P45 billion. It is supposed to run through the Cebu mountains from tip to tip, connecting north to south. Armando Paredes, MCWD general manager, said the proposal for water distribution throug the highway was viable but the question would be the cost. The Cebu-Bohol water proposal in the 1990s was shelved after fierce objections were raised by Boholanos and the expensive cost of water to consumers. Last Thursday, former president Fidel Ramos said Cebu should look for alternative water sources. He told a press conference that Cebu should revisit the proposal to pipe in water from Bohol province which he said was mothballed due to what he called as “cultural reasons.” Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado said he would fully support the Bohol-Cebu Water Supply Project if another company decides to pursue it on a build-operate-transfer scheme. Aumentado, who was congressman when the project was pushed in the 1990s, said Cebu leaders should have have collective decision whether or not to support the project to avoid problems. “First things first. Cebu leaders should decide so the project would push through kay basig mag-away-away na pud (because this may lead to conflict again),” said Aumentado. He said foreign consortium, ANGLO and Kinhill Brown & Root, wanted to sell the water from Bohol’s Inabanga River at P23 per cubic meter even if the cost of extracting and bringing water to Cebu was P80 per cubic meter. “But Cebu wanted to buy it at P14 per cubic meter so alkansi na gyud,” Aumentado told Cebu Daily News. Boholanos opposed the project when the proposal was first presented, he said, but officials were able to explain to church and environmentalist groups and residents of the need to help Cebu because doing so, will also spur development in Bohol. “I was the lone public official in Bohol that time who openly came out to support the project. I have always supported Cebu's bid,” he said. He agreed with Ramos that the project cost would lower if the Cebu-Bohol Friendship Bridge will be constructed. The 90-kilometer bridge being pushed by Aumentado will connect Cordova town on Mactan Island, Cebu and Getafe town in Bohol. “From the P5.7 billion project cost of the water supply project, it will perhaps go down to one billion (pesos) because the pipes can pass through the bridge instead of submarine pipes,” he said. But former Bohol governor Rene Relampagos said a series of consultations should be made first before the project pushes through. He said residents of Inabanga and neighboring municipalities strongly opposed the project because they felt that it would only benefit Cebu and their side was not heard. “Before anything will be done about it, stakeholders must be properly consulted so that you can get inputs from all sides,” said Relampagos. Relampagos said Ramos formed a task force at the time to hasten the project. As Bohol governor then, Relampago was a member of the task force. “My primary job was to bring up the sentiments of the Boholanos. There was general opposition due to environmental concerns. Also, it was viewed that development would only focus on Cebu,” he told Cebu Daily News. Under the proposed Bohol-Cebu Water Supply Project, runoff water from Inabanga River in Bohol would be brought to Cebu through a 30-km submarine cable from Bohol to Mactan Island, Cebu.Pumping stations in Mactan would be fed to pipelines and would distribute the water to the consumers in Metro Cebu. Aside from the Boholanos' opposition, the cost and environmental factors had to be weighed, said Paredes of MCWD. The cost of bringing in water from Bohol was pegged at P60 to P70 per cubic meter in the ‘90s when the exchange rate was still P26 to a dollar.Today, the cost would be much steeper with inflatio and the dollar at P47. Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña agreed that bringing in water from Bohol may be feasible but the cost would bleed MCWD. “The problem with major projects like that is that MCWD would go bankrupt overnight. That would be a major risk for MCWD,” he said. He said the project cost is too high and the MCWD may not be able to sell the bulk water from Bohol to its present concessionaires. Avoiding leaks and breakage of the underwater pipes would be another concern, he said, aside from the water needs of MCWD and Boholanos in 30 to 40 years. source: cdn