Bacolod lone district Rep. Albee Benitez on Monday expressed his hope that the launch of a new water treatment plant would help stabilize the city’s water supply and provide affordable water services to the people.
“At its core, this project is about securing our future, securing our water resource,” Benitez said during the inauguration of the Bacolod–Murcia Sum-Ag Water Treatment Plant & Caliban Water Facility which was led by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
“Water security today is no longer just about infrastructure. It is about resilience in the face of climate change, population growth, and urban expansion. Planning capacity ahead of demand helps us avoid shortages and rising costs,” he added.
Benitez revealed that the city would shift away from the use of deep wells as primary source and instead use them as strategic water reserves.
The facility is one of the largest water supply investments in the Visayas, with a capacity of 50 million liters per day, which Benitez said could already supply up to half of Bacolod’s current demand.
This would help make the city’s plans of securing water a reality, the lawmaker said, providing “stability, resilience, and better cost management as our city continues to grow.”
According to Benitez, the city still largely relies on deep wells as its main water source, which he described as neither sustainable nor reliable in the long term.
“Over-extraction stresses our groundwater, increases operating costs, and exposes us to shortages during peak demand,” he said.
The solon revealed that the city would shift away from the use of deep wells as primary source and instead use them as strategic water reserves that would be activated only when needed to bridge temporary shortages without passing additional costs on to consumers.
“In this way, we protect our groundwater, stabilize supply, and keep water affordable for our people,” said Benitez.
He also reiterated the city’s development goal of “growth that is planned, people-centered, and sustainable — growth that improves daily life and prevents future crises.”
“If we continue to plan well, build responsibly, and govern with discipline, what we launch today can become a model for other cities,” Benitez added.
