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Baguio water refilling stations urged to join association for easy monitoring

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BAGUIO CITY(PIA) --All water refilling stations in the city are  invited to become memberss  of the Baguio Association of Purified and Mineral Water Refillers, Inc. (BAPMWR) while bulk water supply delivery services are encouraged to organized themselves,  for easy coordination and monitoring.

BAPMWR secretary Janette Orca reported that of the more than 300 water refilling stations operating in the city, there are 245 legitimate, meaning with business permits, and compliant with other requirements. About  109 of these are BAPMWR members.

Atty. Nellie Olairez, BAPMWR president, said that as an organization, the BAPMWR is  a member of the local water monitoring committee, and it does annual monitoring of  its registered water refilling stations, and submits status report to the city government. This way, they can help the city in the monitoring of water quality of the water refilling stations.

The City Health Services Office (CHSO) recently  reported that 12 water refilling stations in the city have  tested positive of total coliform and E-Coli.

Jamie Galian, technical manager of the Microbiology Laboratory of the Department of Science and Technology-Cordillera, said  that based on the  Department of Health  Administrative Order No. 2017-0010 or the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW) of 2017, bacterial analysis of drinking water must be conducted on a monthly basis.

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 This is mandatory to all drinking water service providers including government and private developers and operators, bulk water suppliers, water refilling station operators, water vending machine operators, and ice manufacturers.

It shall also be applied to all food establishments, residential, commercial, industrial and institutional buildings that use/supply/serve drinking water, water testing laboratories, health and sanitation authorities, the general public, and all others who are involved in determining the safety of public drinking water,  said Charlene Margarette Ong, chemist  of the Environmental Health Laboratory Services Cooperative, one of the city’s accredited water testing laboratory.

Galian  shared that  water testing services fee costs P1,200 per sample at the DOST-CAR Microbiology Laboratory, but a 25 percent discount is given to members of BAPMWR.

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BAPMWR President Atty. Nellie Olairez invites all purified and mineral water refillers in Baguio to join their association so that they can help the city government in the monitoring of water quality of the water refilling stations.
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Olairez said they are recommending  mandatory membership to the organization because it will be a big help to the city. “We are 15 members of the board,  and we have our respective territorial jurisdiction,  and we visit those, and  that is the basis of our report. We hope to be of help to the city in the monitoring of water refilling stations,” she said.

Allan Abayao, chief of the Baguio LGU Permits and Licensing division, is also  encouraging the bulk water supply delivery services to organize themselves for easy coordination. Based on record, there are about 39 registered bulk water supply services in the city.   

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Baguio City DRRMC Chief , Engr. Charles Bryan Carame presents the ways forward after the Acute Gastroenteritis outbreak response during the consultation meeting with water delivery and refilling companies on Jan. 20.
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Meanwhile, in the consultation meeting called by Mayor Benjamin Magalong with water delivery and refilling companies on  January 20, gaps, challenges, and learnings  on  the  recent acute gastroenteritis (AGE) outbreak  were discussed.

Engr. Charles Bryan Carame, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office  chief, also presented  the actions that will be undertaken  in  moving forward from the AGE outbreak. These include  random testing of water trucks, inspection/re-inspection of  all water delivery facilities, come up with undated inventory of delivery trucks, require water delivery facilities  employees to wear personal protective equipment, and a standard ledger must be maintained by business/ delivery truck owners.

The list of accredited water refilling stations and bulk water supplies  will  be  published in newspapers and social media.

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For administrative actions, the CHSO and the City Legal Office will collaborate in preparing  a safe water ordinance, convene immediately the Local Drinking Water Monitoring Committee,  create  a task force composed  of POSD, PNP, HSO and other private organizations, and coordinate with the National Water Resources Board for possible localization of implementation and regulation. (JDP/MAWC-PIA-CAR)

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