A PHP9.8 million solar-powered water system that has a machine-reverse osmosis capacity is now benefiting more than 300 residents of a village in San Fernando, La Union, and bidding for its second phase is now underway.

The project, funded under the 2023 national budget and undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), provides an overhead tank that can contain 11,000 liters of water.

It has been benefiting residents of Barangay Sagayad, San Fernando City, La Union since Dec. 28, 2023.

“We put outlets so that the residents can get water for daily use such as for cooking, laundry, and bath, among others. The project came with the construction of a water refilling station that can generate purified water for drinking,” Sagayad Barangay chairman Teodolfo Dacanay Jr. said in Filipino during a phone interview by the Philippine News Agency on Tuesday.

Dacanay said over 300 households benefit from the water system since it became operational, but the number of beneficiaries are rising since the project has been opened to residents from other villages who are hard-hit by the drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon.

“The area where it was built has enough water reservoirs hopefully since a test was conducted prior to its construction,” he said.

Prior to the project installation, the residents sourced their water through delivery services, he said.

Dacanay said bidding is now ongoing for the second phase of the project, which involves putting up of water lines to deliver water directly to the households.

In a statement, DPWH-Ilocos Region information officer Esperanza Tinaza said residents of the village of Sagayad now have clean source of water for daily use with the completed construction and rehabilitation of the solar water system.

“Furthermore, these initiatives contributed to the well-being of the community by addressing essential needs, promoting sustainability, and reducing dependence on non-renewable energy sources by using solar power for water pumping,” she said.

Meanwhile, La Union Governor Raphaelle Veronica Ortega-David urged water districts in the province to assess current water supply situation in La Union and address challenges being experienced due to the dry spell.

Last April 30, a consultation meeting was held at the Provincial Capitol in San Fernando City where general managers of the Metro Agoo Waterworks Inc., Naguilian Water District, Balaoan Water District General, and Metro San Fernando Water District presented their respective data on the monthly and average volume of water being supplied to consumers, trend on the serviceable areas, data on the occurrence of water outage and shortage, volume of water, data on serviceable area locations, and billed service classification graph per town.

“As (the) PGLU (provincial government of La Union) continues to harmonize its efforts and plans with concerned stakeholders in addressing challenges in water supply in the province, it also gears up its strategic action plans to ensure a safe and sufficient water supply in the entire province,” the La Union Provincial Information Office said in a statement. (PNA)