| Change Meter Program Slows Down |
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“The most vigorous of efforts in the Change Meter Program were exerted during the months of March, April and May when meters replaced reached over 17,000.”
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“Water lost due to mainline and service line leaks attained record lows in October and November this year since 1997.”
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The Change Meter Program (CMP) took another slow pace this month with only 542 meters 5 years old and above that were replaced. This brought the total meters replaced to 25,186 one month to the year’s end, falling short of the 36,000 meter replacements targeted for 2008.
The program’s implementation this year took a roller coaster ride as achievements varied month on month. The months of March, April and May were the strongest with an aggregate total of 17,441 meter replacements, representing 69 percent of the year’s total number of replacements. On the other hand, no replacements were made in July and August as brand new meters became unavailable during these times. |
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Data on 2008 meter replacements show that an average of 4.55 cubic meters of water consumption per month went unbilled for every connection with meters aged 5 years and above.
The CMP is considered as one of DCWD’s surefire strategies in reducing non-revenue water, which still hovers above 28 percent. The ideal NRW level set by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) is 25 percent.
Currently, other NRW reduction programs are being undertaken alongside CMP. |
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| Population Served Lingers at 57.95% |
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The proportion of Davao City’s population with water service connection from DCWD stood at 57.95 percent this month. The meager increase (0.03 percent) from last month’s proportion of population served resulted from 570 new service connections about 1.8 kilometers of mainlines laid during the month.
Compared to November last year, population served grew 4.24 percent |
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to 814,745 this year from only 781,610 persons last year. This indicates a decent performance for the district in terms of increasing service coverage since population growth rate, which was pegged at 2.41 percent per year, is way below the rate of increase of population served. However, more intensified and aggressive efforts are still needed in order to reach out to as many Davaoeños as possible.
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| Leak Reports Lower by 10.18% |
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The number of leaks reported this month dropped 10.18 percent to 2,496 from 2,779 in October, though this did not result in reductions in the volume of water lost due to leaks. Instead, the lost volume increased 8 percent to 355,759 cubic meters compared to only 329,418 in October. However, when compared to November 2007, the current month’s lost volume was 97.37 percent lower. |
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For five months now, water lost due to leaks has recorded below 600,000 levels. The most recent two months were exceptional in that the lost volume fell below 400,000 cubic meters, the first in over ten years. This came as a result of better regulation in volume of water produced, especially during the night when demand is at its lowest. Shutting off the production wells at night reduces the incidence of pipe bursts because of high pressure.
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