NORZAGARAY, Bulacan—It took Bulacan Sixth District Salvador Pleyto and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for some 3,000 waterless households in several barangays in this town to finally be provided with regular water supply ending their eighty years of difficulties in fetching water for their daily needs.
DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo and Pleyto with DPWH Region 3 director and assistant director Roseller Tolentino and Melquiades Sto. Domingo respectively led the ground breaking of the P150-million San Mateo Water Supply (SMWS) project at the Metropolitan Waters and Sewerage System (MWSS) facility in Barangay Bigte in this town on Friday.
MWSS, a government-owned corporation manages the waterworks supply and systems for Metro Manila, Cavite and Rizal and recently including Bulacan through the Ipo Dam that was operated in 1936. The Ipo dam is located in the hilly and mountainous Barangay San Mateo. Angat Dam, located in upper Barangay San Lorenzo regularly releases a volume of water to Ipo Dam to maintain its operation. Ipo Dam has a capacity and spilling g level of 101.00 meters.
According to Pleyto, when the Ipo Dam was built that year or 88 years ago, the communities particularly those who have been living in Sitio Spar in Barangay Bigte and Barangays Bitungol, Minuyan, San Mateo and Matictic were not given priority to be reached of the water supply because they were only a handful that time while the water structure facilities were costly.
“I saw the people in these areas in their bare feet going out of their houses with their containers waiting to be filled up by a truck of a local private water company. During summer or dry season, when water supply is limited, many of them in the line would not reach the ration. Because of the hilly and mountainous areas, it is very difficult for the people to reach the water supply. But today, through this project, we will end the long suffering of the people in these communities. The strong horsepower pumps will bring the water supply to the further upper hilly and mountainous areas,” Pleyto told NEWSCORE.
Pleyto added that the SMWS project is also in partnership with the Norzagaray Water District for the actual distribution to the communities.
The Friday groundbreaking was for the water treatment facility at phase 1 that will treat the water that will come from Ipo Dam aqueduct with a 75 horsepower booster pump, a 1.980 mm transmission pipe and a 1,000 cubic meter steel-bolted tank at Barangay San Mateo. The distribution pipes will deliver water to the community and transmission pipes will connect to the second tank in Phase 2.
Phase 2 is another 75 horsepower booster pump near Golden Haven that will pump 1,000 cubic meters of water to a second tank at the MWSS Lot Vianney RH, to distribute water to San Mateo , Proper, Sitio Upper Bigte and Sitio Conpra.
Phase 3 is the installation of a 40 horsepower booster pump that will supply water to a 1,000 cubic meter steel-bolted tank at San Mateo Proper Elementary School for water distribution to San Mateo Proper, Ipo Road, St. Matthew Village and the Ipo View Deck.
Norzagaray Mayor Merlyn Germar said the SMWS will bring safe and clean fresh water to about 8,000 individuals in 3,000 households in Sitio Spar, Barangay Bigte, Bitungol, Minuyan, San Mateo and Matictic.
“The long dream of our people will now come to reality. The road it took was so long, but now the waiting is over. We thank Congressman Pleyto and DPWH Secretary Bonoan,” she said.
The solon thanked DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan who approved and provided for the P150-million fund for the project based on the order of the President.
Tolentino and Sto. Domingo assured him that they will exhaust all measures to fast track the completion of the project within just a year period from its one and a half year targeted completion.
Tolentino said the project will be under the direct management and supervision of the DPWH Second District Engineering Office under George Santos.
Pleyto is a first time congressman after he won in the 2022 election. The sixth congressional district of Bulacan covers Sta. Maria, Norzagaray and Angat.
