Did you know that treated water has to travel through nine kilometers of pipeline before it can reach residents in New Cabalan? That is because the hilly barangay gets its supply from the Binictican Water Treatment Plant (BWTP) in the Freeport.

Along the stretch of pipeline that connects the two areas are a number of reservoirs and pump stations that store and transport water over the region’s rough terrain.

A technical problem in any of these facilities will disrupt water service in the barangay— water pressure may weaken in the lower parts, while the elevated areas usually experience reduced hours of supply availability.

Being at the tail end of the Binictican plant-based distribution system, New Cabalan is usually the first to bear the effects of prolonged droughts, which are at their peak during the months of April and May.

Given this background, SUBICWATER over the years has conducted multiple test drillings in the hope of finding a new water source right within the barangay.

 

In Search of Water

Two test drillings in New Cabalan were conducted in 2015— one in the Iram Resettlement Area, and one in Lopez Jaena Street. The latter well site proved to be promising. Initial tests revealed that it can provide the water requirement of 400 families.

Construction of a new pump house began in February 2016 and was finished in April. New pipelines were laid to connect it to the existing distribution system in preparation for its formal commissioning in August.

The P6.7-million project, which includes the drilling costs, pump house construction, and supply of heavy-duty pumps and motors, will initially serve Purok-7, an outlying portion of the barangay that shares boundaries with barangays Old Cabalan and Sta. Rita.

Said area comprises the streets Jupiter, Pluto, Apollo, Moon, Venus, Sun, Saturn, and Mercury.

SUBICWATER is monitoring the actual water production of the well to see if it can also supply the concrete reservoir in Amelia Heights that was built in 2013.