Tubig

Last Saturday, in our subdivision, we had one special association meeting regarding installation of a water (tubig) distribution system. Every house on the block has now a water system that consists of an electric waterpump, a 500 gallon overhead water tank and a pressure tank. We all get our water from deep under the ground. The water usage is free when you use the pressure tank as a means to get your water into the house, but one must calculate more electricity usage when the electric pump starts to work. But many people call a water truck to deliver water to their 500 gal. overhead water tank. They pay a meager P200 (3 Euro) to fill up these tanks, and a family of about 4 can use this for about a week.

Now, we have a golden opportunity for all residents in the subdivision to have an underground water distribution system installed, with a price of course. In the long run, it will pay out itself, as the charge will be eventually be about P511 (7.75 Euro) for 25 per cubic meter (2.925m x 2.925m x 2.925m) of water used. The cost of the underground water installation throughout the subdivision will be about P43,000 (660 Euro) per house. Although, a resident can choose a deferred payment plan for 48 months, interest-free. That is why we had a meeting in the courtyard of one of our neighbors to see if people are in favour.

We were asked in the meeting if we are proposing or are opposed to the installation of the water system. All in the meeting said yes to the water installation, about 64 members, but half of the residents in the subdivision seem not to have come, so that's another 65 or so. We are half way, and so far 50% are in favour of the installation, so the work should go ahead and be finished in about 2 years.

The water will also be a lot cleaner as it now is. Deep underground is always dirty with sand and soil in it, and a person can do away with all the water tank structures at the back of their house, so one will have more space. Some people may want to keep their water pump if they still want to use it in case there is no underground water from the newly installed water pipes to their house.

They will soon start installation of the major roads around our subdivision, so we need to wait a little to see them coming into our area. The underground piping is already in place in our streets since the sixties, and I don't know why they never bothered to fully utilize it, probably, because in general Filipinos are very conservative in making major decisions.

First picture: the water truck that delivers water to residents. There are several that ply around here. They pump water into the overhead water tanks of people's homes.

Second picture: an example of a 500 gal. overhead water tank, usually at the back of the house.