Maragondon Water District (MWD) organized a public hearing which was held on November 28th 2014 to relay information regarding the Maragondon Bulk Water Supply Project (MBWSP).

The Board of Directors and employees of Maragondon Water District were in attendance when GM Angeles discussed the history of the project that resulted in the Joint Venture Contract (JVC) signed with WBS Consortium.

Maragondon Mayor Rey Rillo was also in attendance and repeated his assurance 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.

Fr. Ernie Cruz, a supporter of the project, spoke to the public about his trust in what the project can do for Maragondon. As a former concerned citizen who was previously not sure of the project, he assured that he studied the project himself and realized that this would be very beneficial for Maragondon.

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 – A weir is indeed a type of dam, but much lower than what people are thinking 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 – The project will only use the amount of water indicated in the water rights provided by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB). 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 by 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.

Concerns regarding Mabacao, specifically how it will affect their own water system separate from the water district, were also addressed. All questions were answered with the appropriate documentary support and visual presentation.