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INWD admits low water supply this summer


By Dominic B. dela Cruz and Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporters

Laoag City—Ilocos Norte Water District (INWD) general manager Engr. John Teodoro admitted that they are having issues with water supply this summer.

Mr. Teodoro disclosed that the IWND wells at Brgys. 27 and 29 in this city is yielding lower water supply.

Of the total yield from the wells, Mr. Teodoro said there is already a 9-liter per second reduction and this could possibly go down further.

To compensate, the INWD upgraded their other water well in Vintar, Ilocos Norte to balance out the low supply in the eastern part of the city. Currently, the said plan is yielding 1o liters per second.

With this development, Mr. Teodoro said the city’s Ermita Hill area is now being supplied with water except during peak hours. Before this, water supply in the said part of the city was limited to 11:30 pm-12:00 am. Ironically, INWD’s main office is right at the said area.

Mr. Teodoro added that they are planning a similar action on their Bacarra water pump station to add to the water supply of the city’s western and poblacion areas. They believe they can add 10 liters per second from this plan.

Laoag’s southern barangays are the most affected by the low water pressure situation.

Mr. Teodoro said they are looking into the possibility of constructing an additional pump station in this area to solve this.

Additional wells

An additional well is also needed in Pinili is also being planned to normalize the water supply situation there. Pinili’s water supply is being sourced from Badoc, and the said supply is also getting lower.

Likewise, the town of Solsona also needs an additional well to augment the needed water supply there

Erratic power supply

Mr. Teodoro also pointed out that the lower water supply situation is also because of the voltage situation from the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC).

The INWD general manager explained that their machines automatically shuts down when power voltage goes up to 270-280 volts or goes down to 190 volts which are out of their machine’s allowable range.

He added that although they have standby generators, but INEC’s unannounced power interruptions also catch them by surprise and their generators need to warm up for 15 minutes before they can power their pumps. On top of this, they also need to “blow off” the initial water pumped for 45 minutes as these are usually murky.

In all, he said INEC’s sudden power cut would set them back at least an hour before they can pump water again.

Other issues

Another reason, Mr. Teodoro cited, is the on-going replacement of old water pipes along the city’s main streets as well as the on-going road widening project to solve the water leakage problems.

To help them solve these issues, Mr. Teodoro said they hired water expert Engr. Alfonso Basco as consultant. Mr. Basco worked for the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) until his retirement.

Variable Frequency Drive

Mr. Teodoro said they will also replace their “controllers” into a state of the art Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) which is more tolerant in determining high and low voltage of electricity.     

The VFD will regulate voltage fluctuations, causing water service interruption in elevated areas and low pressure in some areas of Laoag City. 

By April 15, Mr. Teodoro said the water pressure in Laoag City’s increasing concessionaires is expected to become more stable with the on-going upgrading of pumping equipment.

Meanwhile, he likewise appealed to construction workers engaged in road widening projects in the entire province of Ilocos Norte to report immediately the repair of any leak in water distribution systems which they may have accidentally damaged during the construction works and used of heavy equipment.

“We seek our concessionaires’ patience and understanding to bear with us on this temporary inconvenience on their water supply. INWD will do its best to hasten the work so that normal operation will be restored at the earliest possible time,” Mr. Teodoro said.

Averting water crisis

While Ilocos Norte province particularly in the city of Laoag gears up for rapid development and urbanization, the government-owned and controlled water district seeks to upgrade its obsolete pumping equipment and explore on long-term water management plan to avert looming water crisis.

In response to the call of Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos during her last year’s State of the Province Address (SOPA) to better manage water resources, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte together with INWD conducted the first Provincial Water Summit on November 27, 2014 at Laoag City Auditorium.

All stakeholders were invited as they were asked to contribute and help preserve water sources by planting more trees and use water wisely.


“Ilocos Norte, as we all know, is abundant with water resources but we need to reach the goal on how to properly manage them so that our province can effectively adapt to the challenges of climate change,” Mr. Teodoro added.

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