DCWD hosts first ever stakeholders assembly for water safety

DCWD Dir. Jacinto (extreme L) calls for the support of the participants in keeping the water safe for the Davaoeños and GM Regalado (2nd from L) toasts for stronger collaboration with stakeholders to unite efforts to keep the water safe in Davao City while LWUA Administrator Lapus and DOH Region XI Director Yumang (2nd and 1st from R, respectively) commend DCWD’s initiative to conduct a stakeholders assembly, a first in the country, to unite all efforts to ensure quality water.

DCWD hosts first ever stakeholders assembly for water safety Jovana Cresta T. Duhaylungsod

Davao City Water District hosted the first ever Water Safety Plan (WSP) Stakeholders Assembly on November 21, 2018 at the Davao Convention Center with around 120 participants in attendance from national and local government units and agencies, private institutions, civic and civil organizations, the media, and other interested personalities. Themed “Water: Let’s Keep It Safe”, among the objectives of the assembly is to communicate DCWD’s WSP to the stakeholders who are directly and indirectly involved in DCWD’s operation from the water sources, treatment/ storage, distribution, and customers. On behalf of DCWD, Dir. Ma. Luisa L. Jacinto thanked all the participants for their presence and emphasized the importance of their contributions to help DCWD become an efficient drinking water service provider. She said that through the WSP, DCWD identified and prioritized risks and established control measures to better manage the quality of water. However, its efficient implementation needs the active involvement of the stakeholders. GM Edwin V. Regalado expounded on the strategies of the plan to prevent intrusion of natural and manmade physical, chemical, and microbiological water hazards; prevent contamination during production, storage, distribution, and handling of drinking water; and to ensure that the final quality of water delivered to the customers passes the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water. One of the guest speakers was Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) Acting Administrator Jeci A. Lapus who commended the efforts of DCWD for being the first water district in the country to conduct a stakeholders assembly. With the Department of Health (DOH) as the oversight agency in the crafting and implementation of WSP among water districts, DOH Region XI Director Annabelle P. Yumang also congratulated DCWD for accepting and acting on the challenge to safeguard the quality of water. To effectively discuss the plan, invited speakers World Health Organization Technical Officer Bonifacio B. Magtibay and DOH Supervising Health Program Officer Maria Sonabel S. Anarna both gave an overview on water safety in the country while DCWD division managers Heidy O. Palencia, Ronald A. Muñoz, and Hydie R. Maspiñas discussed in detail the contents of DCWD’s WSP. Maspiñas is also the team leader in the crafting of the plan. Capping the event was a commitment pledge to seal DCWD’s and the stakeholders’ action plans to safeguard the water quality in Davao City. Both DCWD and the stakeholders already have established relationships in carrying out activities relating to water provision and its safety. The assembly served as an avenue to further strengthen these ties.

Participants of the first Water Safety Plan Stakeholders Assembly pledge their support by giving their respective commitments to ensure the safety of water from source, treatment/storage, distribution, and customers.