A public hearing organized by Maragondon Water District (MWD) was held on November 11th 2014 to provide details about the Maragondon Bulk Water Supply Project (MBWSP).

In attendance were the Board of Directors, employees and the General Manager of Maragondon Water District, Mr. Manuel Angeles. GM Angeles discussed the history of the project that resulted in the Joint Venture Contract (JVC) signed with WBS Consortium.

Maragondon Mayor Rey Rillo gave a few words of support for the project and assured the public that the LGU would not be supporting the project if they were not sure of the safety of the people and how it would benefit Maragondon to have the MBWSP.

Representatives from MacroAsia Properties Development Corporation, which owns the Joint Venture Contract Company WBS Consortium, were also on hand to provide technical information on the project.

Mr. Jonathan Cabrera, Senior Business Development Officer for Water of MacroAsia discussed the various issues that were points of concern among the residents of Maragondon that were previously discussed in the public hearing at the town plaza:

Dam – It was explained that while a weir is indeed a type of dam, it is much lower than what people often visualize dams to be and will not be a cause of flooding if it were to be built. A visual presentation of the size of the weir was shown to prove that it is not as big as people have speculated.

Will the water cause farmers to lose water – It was explained that the project will only use the amount of water indicated in the water rights provided by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB). Moreover, the offtake point for the project is after the offtake point for irrigation, which means the project will only be taking water after the water meant for irrigation has been provided.

Mr. Cabrera also discussed the benefits of the project, particularly the Eco Tourism Park, Watershed Protection Program and other projects that can be funded through the LGU for education, healthcare and the like from their half of the royalty fee that the water district will be able to collect from the project due to their water rights.

Mr. Cabrera and GM Angeles addressed the concerns of the public regarding flooding, loss of water and use of the river and safety issues regarding the weir and treatment plant to be constructed. All questions were answered with the appropriate documentary support and visual presentation.