San Miguel Corp (SMC), through its Luzon Clean Water Development Corp (LCWDC), will make available a potable and affordable water source from the Angat reservoir to more than 350,000 households in Bulacan by early 2025 as it starts implementation of Stage 3A of the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project (BBWSP) covering the water districts of Baliwag, Norzagaray, Hagonoy, Pandi, San Ildefonso, San Miguel, and San Rafael.
LCWDC currently supplies treated bulk water to 13 water districts of Bulacan that, in turn, distribute to 220,000 households in cities and municipalities that include Balagtas, Bocaue, Marilao, Meycauayan, Obando, San Jose Del Monte, Bulakan, Calumpit, Guiginto, Malolos, Paombong, Plaridel, and Sta. Maria.
Worth noting is the fact that LCWDC has been providing Bulacan water districts with the lowest bulk water charge in the country at P9.66 per cubic meter or less than 1 centavo per liter.
Full completion of BBWSP Stage 3 will bring LCWDC’s total coverage to 24 areas in Bulacan.
“With the growing population in the province, we expect a greater demand for water in the coming years. As such, our BBWSP teams are working double time to further expand our coverage areas to allow more households to benefit from the reliable, affordable, clean, and potable supply of water. We still have a long way to go, given the delays brought about by the pandemic, but with the support of local government units, water districts, and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, we are confident we can meet our targets on time,” SMC said.
SMC added that it is committed to fulfilling the objectives of the project, which is to meet the increasing demand for water that’s potable, affordable, and reliable without the adverse environmental impact brought about by excessive groundwater extraction.
BBWSP produces an average of 190 million liters of water daily and has a maximum capacity of 388 million liters per day. It’s one of SMC’s several water-related initiatives in recent years.
In 2017, SMC discontinued its bottled water business as part of efforts to reduce the company’s impact on the environment. The company also initiated a program to reduce its group-wide water use by 50% by 2025.
SMC also completed its P1-billion Tullahan River cleanup last September with 1.12 million tons of waste removed in just two years. The company is also undertaking the P2-billion cleanup of the Pasig River to boost flood mitigation efforts in cities located near the river. (Story and photos courtesy of SMC Media Affairs Group)