Negros Occidental Bulk Water Supply Project

PHASE-2
(Malogo River: EB Magalona, Victorias, Manapla)

Project Description for Scoping

Submitted to:
The Chief, Clearance & Permitting Division
EMB-Environmental Management Bureau
Region 6

Prepared by:
EIA Team
Provincial Administrator’s Office
Negros Occidental
PROJECT DESCRIPTION FOR SCOPING (PDS)

1. BASIC PROJECT INFORMATION

1.1. Project Information

The Negros Occidental Bulk Water Supply Project aims to meet the increasing water demand in the province
by utilizing surface water sources, reducing reliance on groundwater and deep wells.

It involves the development of a bulk water supply system, including intake facilities, a water treatment plant,
transmission mains, and offtake facilities, with private sector participation for financing, engineering design,
construction, and operation. This project aligns with the ABANSE Negrense development agenda, the
Philippine Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan 2019-2030, the PPP Center Local PPP Strategy, DENR's
climate resilience program, the Philippine Clean Water Act, and national development plans such as the
Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and AmBisyon Natin 2040.

The Project involves the financing, engineering design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a bulk
water supply system with a minimum capacity of 34.5 million liters/day (MLD) to be sourced from the Imbang
River and/or Malogo River, and is expected to supply treated bulk water to six (6) Water Service Providers in
the Province of Negros Occidental, namely: Silay City, Talisay City, Victorias City, Bacolod City, Municipality
of Manapla, and Municipality of EB Magalona. The Project shall be implemented through a Joint Venture (JV)
with the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental for a period of thirty-eight (38) years, inclusive of
construction period.

1.2. Proponent Profile

Name: Province of Negros Occidental / Hon. Governor Eugenio Jose V. Lacson

Address: Provincial Capitol Bldg., Gatuslao st., Bacolod city, 6100

Authorized signatory/representative to apply for ECC:

Atty. Rayfrando P. Diaz II, Provincial Administrator / PCO - Managing Head

Contact details: (034)7097575, [email protected]

Focal Person: Atty. Jessa G. Genteroles

2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

2.1 Project Location and Area

Overview of the Malogo River Basin:

The Malogo (also known as Malago) River Basin is located at the midwest of the Negros Island, between the
Municipalities of Enrique B. Magalona (EB Magalona) and Victorias City in Negros Occidental. The floodplain
also covers Silay City. According to the River Basin Control Office (RBCO) of the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR), it has an estimated drainage area of 163 km2 , and an estimated annual run-
off of 270 million cubic meters (MCM). The basin’s main stem, the Malogo River, is part of the river systems in
the Negros Island Region.

Malogo River Basin (Brown)

Malogo River

Malogo River is another major potential surface water source that can supply a cluster of cities
downstream. The river is envisioned to augment the water supply in Victorias City and the
Municipalities of E.B. Magalona and Manapla. A hydrologic analysis of the Malogo River, which
determined the dependable flows at various intake points was conducted under the Safe
Water Project of USAID. The information obtained from this study forms part of the design
basis for this Project. Figure 2-7 shows the location of possible intake sites at elevations 81,
100, and 137 or Points 2, 3, and 5 in the Figure, respectively.
Figure 2-7. Location Map of the Three Intake Sites Along the Malogo River
Source: USAID Safe Water High-Level Feasibility Assessment of Malogo River Bulk Water
Supply Project; August 2022

The basic design and cost estimate for this study uses Intake Point No. 3 as the suitable site
for the intake facility since it has a considerable catchment area that translates to a dependable
flow of 130 million liters per day (MLD) and its elevation at 100 meters above mean sea level
can most likely satisfy the hydraulic requirements of the transmission system.

Dependable flow of Malogo River:

2.2. Project Rationale
Project Rationale and Objective

Project Rationale

Current Situation in Negros Occidental:

• Groundwater sources are rapidly being depleted and will soon be fully used up.
• Based on the Philippine Sustainable Water Masterplan, LGUs and WDs should shift to surface water
sources in order to have a sustainable water supply system and mitigate depletion of groundwater sheds.
• There are service problems occurring such as high turbidity during rainy season, low pressure occurrences
during peak-hour demand, poor water quality, etc.
• There is a need to develop a new water source to augment the current water supply.

Project Objectives:

The Project aims to address the increasing water demand of the Province of
Negros Occidental by developing surface water as the source to provide potable, sustainable, and resilient
water supply and at the same time reducing dependency on groundwater and use of deep wells.

Profile of Negros Occidental:

• Outside Metro Manila, Negros Occidental has the most number of cities
with its highly urbanized capital, Bacolod City, plus 12 component cities and 19 municipalities
• Land area: 792,607 hectares (of which 540,386 ha is alienable/disposable)
• Population: 3.2 million in 2020 and seen to reach at least 5 million by 2040
• 10 renewable energy sources
• Easily accessible by air, land and sea transport
• Competitive labor cost
• 2.74 million employed persons as of 2018 and with active education program for skilled manpower
• 24 Ecozones: 3 agro-industrial, 19 IT/BPO Center/Park, 2 manufacturing

Governance:

ABANSE Negrense is a brand of governance anchored on the principles of sustainable development

and the attainment of the total human potential of all Negrenses. ABANSE Negrense will continue to
guide and propel both the executive and legislative departments of the provincial government, the
Civil Society and the Negrense people as a whole, to exercise their duties, functions and
responsibilities toward greater heights.

ABANSE Negrense Development Framework

2.3. Project Components List

Phase 2

1. Water intake point with overflow weir and water pump at Malogo River
2. Water Treatment Plant (WTP) near Malogo River
3. Transmission pipelines from intake point to WTP, from WTP to offtake points
4. Concrete reservoirs / offtake facilities and break-pressure tanks at water offtake
points:

a. At the offtake point at Manapla WD, a concrete water reservoir tank with a
capacity appropriate for an estimated ADD of 1.0 MLD will be constructed within the location to be identified
by the Manapla WD, indicatively along Bacolod North Road, within the vicinity of Barangay Punta Mesa,
Manapla. The bulk water supply pipeline will be connected to this tank.

b. At the offtake point at E.B. Magalona, a concrete water reservoir tank with a capacity appropriate for an
estimated ADD of 0.5 MLD will be constructed within the location to be identified by the E.B. Magalona LGU,
indicatively along Bacolod North Road, within the vicinity of Barangays Tabigue and Damgo. Thebulk water
supply pipeline will be connected to this tank.

c. At the offtake point at Victorias WD, a concrete offtake facility will be constructed at a location to be
specified by the Victorias WD, indicatively along Osmeña Avenue, within the vicinity of Barangays V and VI-A,
Victorias City. The bulk water supply pipeline will be connected to this offtake facility.

PROJECT LOCATION FROM PROTECTED AREA:

The Distance from the NNNP - Northern Negros Natural Park is a ppr oxima tel y 3191.33m mo re or l ess.
Protected areas being taken note:
The major components of the project include the following:

Phase 2 – Victorias, Manapla and EB Magalona

The Phase 2 system will be developed and constructed to serve exclusively the bulk water requirement for the
City of Victorias, and the municipalities of Manapla and E.B. Magalona, which should include, but not limited
to the following components (also see Figure 12-8 below):

(a) Development of a New Source at Malogo River.

The development of the Malogo River Facility includes:

• Intake facility – should be able to secure at least 7.5 MLD of raw water while preventing large rocks, sticks,
and other debris from entering the treatment facility; and

• Construction of pumping facility (raw water) - A single pump station, including the pump house itself, can be
constructed within 2-3 months, depending on the availability of the pumps. The testing and commissioning of
these facilities are usually done when the whole system is online, thus, the implementation schedule should
coincide with the completion of the other components

• Construction of a conventional water treatment plant (WTP) - conventional WTP should have a capacity for
and ADD of 7.5 MLD near the Malogo River;

(b) Installation of Transmission Line System. The laying of the transmission pipeline (steel) is the critical path
for the implementation. This activity may start in parallel with the construction of other facilities and should be
completed within two (2) years, including testing and commissioning. The hydraulic analysis result is
presented in Annex 12.2.6.
(c) Concrete Reservoirs / Off takes and Break-Pressure Tanks. All concrete reservoirs will be built on a solid
foundation, supported by subsurface geotechnical investigation. A concrete reservoir can be built within six (6)
months (ideally) and can stretch to about a year. The break-pressure tanks (BPT) can be constructed late in
the implementation schedule. Each BPT can be completed in about half a month.

i. At the off take point at Manapla WD, a concrete water reservoir tank with a capacity appropriate for an
estimated ADD of 1.0 MLD will be constructed within the location to be identified by the Manapla WD,
indicatively along Bacolod North Road, within the vicinity of Barangay Punta Mesa, Manapla. The bulk water
supply pipeline will be connected to this tank.

ii. At the offtake point at E.B. Magalona, a concrete water reservoir tank with a capacity appropriate for an
estimated ADD of 0.5 MLD will be constructed within the location to be identified by the E.B. Magalona LGU,
indicatively along Bacolod North Road, within the vicinity of Barangays Tabigue and Damgo. The bulk water
supply pipeline will be connected to this tank.

iii. At the offtake point at Victorias WD, a concrete offtake facility will be constructed at a location to be
specified by the Victorias WD, indicatively along Osmeña Avenue, within the vicinity of Barangays V and VI-A,
Victorias City. The bulk water supply pipeline will be connected to this offtake facility.
Bulk Water Facilities

A. General Considerations

The major components of the bulk water project facilities are (i) intake facilities, (ii) raw water
transmission facilities, (iii) water treatment plants, (iv) treated water transmission facilities, and
(v) distribution reservoirs. Key considerations for the development of basic design include the
following:

• Raw water transmission mains to be installed along sharp slopes upstream of the intake facility, various
alternative installations should be considered not only underground but of exposed installation, hanging, etc.
This study assumed an exposed installation.

• Clean water transmission facilities are one of the most important facilities in the surface water system. As the
statistic water pressure in the pipeline becomes very high at the lower elevations of the pipeline route, it is
necessary to consider such high pressure in the selection of pipe materials and valves. Moreover, pressure
releasing chambers are proposed to be constructed at the appropriate locations to design the facilities as the
maximum standards would allow.

• The water treatment plant facilities are so designed to obtain the finished water quality which conforms to the
DOH standards. It should be also considered to adopt facilities with easier operation and maintenance so that
manual operation is preferred to automatic control to the extent possible.

• For the transmission pipeline construction work, the applicable material is likely to be Ductile Cast Iron Pipe
(DIP) pipes for sizes more than 300mm. This is in due consideration of strength against external load, high-
pressure resistance, and easier installation. Available local supply of DIP might be insufficient, hence their
shipment to the Island of Negros should be anticipated.

• Raw water turbidity tends to increase sharply to a very high level after heavy rainfall during the rainy
seasons. The design of the water treatment plant should consider such sudden changes in water quality.

B. Planning for Intake and Off take Facilities

Location of Intake and Off take Facilities

The locations of the intake facilities and water treatment plants are sited at the elevations and coordinates as
shown in Figure 2-13 (below) to enable gravity flow up to the off take facilities. The elevation and coordinates
are also shown in the same figure below.

Method of Intake

A lateral intake with overflow weirs is proposed for the Project. The technical solution is based on the following
considerations:

• Lateral intakes are favorable if the amount of water to be diverted/extracted is approximately around 50% of
the amount of water supplied by the river or less;

• Lateral intakes are favorable for medium gradient (1% > I > 0.01%) in connection with a hydraulically
efficient sand trap as compared to bottom intake;

• If the ground plan of the river is straight then lateral intake is less favorable in connection with additional
structures. If the ground plan of the river is winding then lateral intake is very favorable when arranged on the
outside bend;

• With a high concentration of the suspended matter in water lateral intake is suitable in connection with a
hydraulically efficient sand trap. For low concentrations of suspended matter in water lateral intake is well-
suited as compared to other intake structures
 Figure 2-13. Location of Intake and Offtake Facilities
Source: Study Team

Lateral intake consists of two key structures namely, the overflow weir and the intake facility.

(a) Overflow Weir

For Phase 2 at Malogo River, no weir is necessary.

(b) Intake structure

In the side intake, the water is abstracted through an intake built on the bank of the river. It consists of wing
walls installed into the bank and large stone pitching to protect the intake against floods and scour. A
duplicate intake may be provided to facilitate maintenance and redundancy. Bar screens in front of the intake
mouth are used to prevent floating materials, debris, and large stones from entering the intake. A screen shall
be consisting of a row of vertical steel bars, inclined at an angle of about 60 degrees to allow the screen to be
cleaned by raking from above. A typical design uses bars of 25mm in diameter with a spacing of about
100mm, sized to give a velocity through the screen of about 0.5 to 0.7 meters per second. See Figure 2-15
below.
(c) Other components

Other components of the intake facility include the following:

◻ Pumping station, with a floor area of 100 m2 (7.3m x 13.7m), and Pump (with varying
HP rating as per requirement).

◻ Standby (Emergency) diesel generator set (with varying kVA rating as per requirement).

C. Water Treatment Plant

The raw water from the river will be treated in the Water Treatment Plant to make it suitable
for drinking with water quality as specified in the Philippine National Standards for Drinking
Water of 2017 (DOH Administrative Order No. 2017-0010).

The use of a conventional water treatment plant (WTP) is recommended for the Project. In
conventional WTP, raw water undergoes a series of processes which include the steps
described in Figure 2-17 below. An overview of each of the processes is likewise provided
further below.

a. Intake and screening.

Under this process, floating objects like leaves that have passed through prior screening are
separated with bar rack screens so that the mechanical equipment and pumps in the
subsequent processes are safe. Smaller macro particles are removed with finer mesh screens
and grit removers. Additionally, the more effective the screening is, the less maintenance is
required for subsequent treatment units. As it passes through it is naturally aerated so it can
react with the surrounding air and release its odors and gases. After the water passes through
the screens, sediments that are more difficult settle to the next stage.

b. Coagulation (Rapid Mix).

Coagulation is the rapid mixing process of adding compound chemicals to the water that
promote the clumping of fines found in the river into large flocs thus they can be easily
separated. At this stage, the water still has fine light particles that cannot be physically removed
(called colloids). To remove these colloids a chemical coagulant shall be added in a series of
tanks and mixed vigorously in a flash mixer through which the chemical shall be evenly
distributed throughout the process.
b. Flocculation (Slow Mix).

After the coagulation process, the water is transferred to the flocculation chambers (Figure
2-18). In the flocculation (slow mixing) process, the water is gently mixed to aid the formation
of larger particles called flocs. The floc may then float to the top of the liquid. These can be
easily removed when the water travels to the sedimentation chamber.

d. Clarification (Sedimentation).

Clarification, or sedimentation is the process of removing solid particles by gravity. This process is primarily
aimed at preparing the water for subsequent filtration. At this point, water, along with the flocs, passes into a
specially designed tank known as a clarifier or sedimentation tank. Here the flocs have time to settle and
clump together to form sludge which is heavy enough to sink allowing cleaner water to pass into thenext stage.
A sludge treatment plant shall be constructed as part of the WTP facilities to treat the sludge by-product. After
this process, only a few unsettled particles are left which could be filtered in the next stage.

This process has four stages. First, the velocity is decreased to a degree that the flow is uniformly distributed
in the sedimentation basin. The second zone is used for settling, the velocity of the water has slowed down
and the suspended particles can be settled out here. The third stage is where there is a smooth transition of
water from the sedimentation basin to filtration chambers where the settled solids are collected to be removed.
Dimensions of the tank are determined based on the values for Retention Time (RT) and Surface Overflow
Rate (SOR).

e. Filtration

The water now needs to be filtered slowly through fine sand-like material which could be placed in separate
layers to get rid of any remaining dissolved particles these particles could be a mixture of suspended organic
and inorganic particles such as fine silts and clays or bacteria and cysts. The filters are made out of fine and
coarse sand layers by using mechanical screening trapping solid particles in between the grains of sand occur
hence cleaning the water from impurities.

Tests of filter performance can be done by assessing the turbidity of a sample of the water. If water is heavy
with organic compounds, further types of purification methods can be used. The particles in the end are
trapped by the filtered medium which could be later washed out by filter back washing. Backwash is
performed where clean water is blasted from the bottom of the gullet tank to the top to remove the impurities
present in the sand and hence clean the filters.

Throughout this process, water level rises to a point where wash troughs transport the water and dispose of it
into the gullet where a pipe recirculates the dirty water back into the system
for treatment.

f. Chlorination (Disinfection).

Chlorine disinfection is associated with the inactivation / killing of pathogenic microorganisms present in the
water which could be related to waterborne diseases affecting public health. Disinfection of water using
chlorine is normally chosen due to being inexpensive, reliable, and relatively safe to handle. As bulk water
must travel a long way to the off-take point, it is necessary to ensure that the supplied water is pathogen-safe
until then, thus a certain amount of chlorine is added. Lastly the pH levels are then controlled to make it as
relatively neutral as possible.

Chlorine Contact Chamber

A contact chamber is used to allow the chlorine dosage added to the water to mix efficiently with the water
body before being distributed to the main network system. Baffles are provided to promote plug flow to
enhance the mixing of chlorine with water. Shown below are examples of baffling approach

Clear water Storage Tank

The capacity of treated clean water in the clear well storage tank should be sufficient to the
water demand of the specified population for a minimum of 24 hours. Hence this water
quantity is stored in a cylindrical storage vessel with minimum dimensions determined as
follow:
The volume required = Q flow demand per day

2.4. Project Phases, Key Environmental Aspects, Wastes, Issues, Built-in Measures –

The project involves the following phases:

◻ Project Preparation Phase.:

◻
This phase involves: (a) carrying out the project feasibility study to assess the viability of delivering the project
through the solicited PPP mode; (b) project approval; and (c) project bidding and award, where interested
bidders from the private sector may submit their bids and evaluated to identify the winning bidder.
◻ Pre-Construction Phase:
◻
This phase involves: (a) acquisition of necessary business and construction permits; and (b) the detailed
engineering design will be carried out by the winning bidder, including site visit, detailed geological survey,
pipe alignment survey, design of the water treatment facility including equipment sizing and sourcing.

◻ Construction Phase:
◻
The construction of the pumping station and the water treatment plant will follow standard construction
methods. It will involve site clearing, including earth movement. Excavation of the foundation and erection of
the structural elements (footings, posts, beams, etc.) and completion of the structures will be carried out once
the sites have been cleared. Once the buildings are completed, equipment (including pump, water treatment
equipment) will be installed. Fencing will be constructed for safety and security of these facilities. The
installation of the pipelines will involve excavation (about 1 meter depth and 1 meter width). After excavation
the pipes will be laid down and the buried.
◻
◻ Operation Phase:
◻
During the project’s operation, raw water will be pumped from the river to the water treatment plant. After
treatment the water will flow by gravity to the takeoff point at EB Magalona water District, Victorias Water
district, and Manapla water district. The three water districts will then distribute the water into their customers
via their existing water pipeline network.

2.5. Project Cost and Duration

As the project is still to undergo bidding, the actual manpower requirements are not yet known. The number of
construction workers to be employed will depend on the construction method and schedule that will be
implemented by the winning bidder. For the operation phase, the number of personnel is not expected to be
more than 50 people as the facility is relatively small in scale.

The estimated project cost is PhP 1,192,250,000 for the whole Bulk water project of the Province. However,
as the project is still to undergo bidding, the final total project cost may still change depending on the
submission and due diligence of potential bidders.

As per the project feasibility study, the project is expected to start construction by Year 2024 and become
operational at the start of Year 2027 assuming a three-year construction period. The operating period will run
for 35 years until the end of Year 2061.
3. ANNEXES
Access Through Private Property, Phase 2: Through Unidentified Property

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