The Commonwealth\u2019s Utilities Corp. acknowledged yesterday that it is faced with two gigantic emergency situations\u2014a water crisis and a power supply dilemma\u2014but it is short of solutions. <\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t just tell us about the problems here. We already know the problems but where are the solutions? Where is your recommendation? We want to see solutions. Put them on the table because you guys know better,\u201d CUC board chair Herman P. Sablan told the management, represented by deputy executive director Bernard Villagomez, in yesterday\u2019s board meeting.<\/p>\n
CUC executive director Lorraine was absent. She is reportedly in Japan on an official trip, working in relation with the administration\u2019s housing project.<\/p>\n
Also absent in yesterday\u2019s meeting was CUC water manager Jess Castro, who is reportedly on leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are nowhere to be found when they are most needed,\u201d observed a government personnel.<\/p>\n
Acting on behalf of Castro was Glen Dikita, who answered most of the board\u2019s inquiries about the water situation.<\/p>\n
Meantime, board members Allen Perez and Joe Torres emphasized the need \u201cto put the issues and recommendations on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the meeting, Villagomez and other managers said there is not enough water in CUC\u2019s reservoirs. They said that most water wells could not generate enough water to supply the whole island.<\/p>\n
Dikita cited, for instance, that water level in reservoirs supplying Garapan is now down to about six ft. from 31 ft. In the Tanapag area, he said, the water level is down to five ft. from the normal 11 ft.<\/p>\n
As an urgent move, he said his team had already diverted water from Northern Mariana College to supply Garapan. In the process, he said Oleai and San Jose consumers suffered from the lack of water.<\/p>\n
Member Palacios then asked as to the truth of the CNMI Water Task Force\u2019s earlier claim that there is enough water on Saipan but most is lost due to leaks. \u201cI thought there is enough water according to the water task force. Where is it?\u201d asked Palacios.<\/p>\n
The task force was represented in the meeting by CUC official Patrick Deleon Guerrero.<\/p>\n
Palacios also inquired whether CUC could share the funds received by the task force to address urgent cases. \u201cWe\u2019ve heard the task force say there\u2019s money for this, money that. Can it be shared?\u201d she asked. <\/p>\n
Deleon Guerrero, for his part, said any funding received by the task force can be used for very specific projects and cannot be shared with CUC for day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n
He cited that funding is reserved for well optimization, water conservation, research, and meter installation. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end, the task force is going to help CUC clean up what\u2019s out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Meantime, Dikita said that CUC wells can hardly produce water.<\/p>\n
He could not cite a specific daily production right now, but said that during dry season, CUC wells can only generate 8.5 million gallons of water daily. Normally, CUC can produce up to 11 million gallons a day in the rainy season. <\/p>\n
For his part, Torres said the problem is evidently worsened by poorly maintained systems. \u201cI just learned that our pump is not pumping water because it is filled with sand. What are we doing for maintenance? I tell you, even if build 100 wells, if we don\u2019t maintain them, there\u2019s not going to be enough water.\u201d <\/p>\n
Villagomez said the management has been monitoring all aspects but lamented that \u201cwe just have old wells.\u201d He said most of the existing wells are 25 years old.<\/p>\n
Perez said managers need \u201cto put issues on the table and present options so that we can move ahead.\u201d <\/p>\n
Sablan agreed, saying it would be up to the board to find ways to make the solutions work. He said the board could lobby the Legislature and the Governor\u2019s Office for emergency funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re dealing now with emergencies and we can\u2019t afford to just talk about these. People out there are freaking out, demanding that we do something,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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