Councilor Sandra Mejia, chairperson of the SP’s committee on health, informed the media that the foremost concern of the board is the rising levels of manganese, copper, and fluoride in the water.

According to tests conducted by Tawa last month and in December 2007, the levels of manganese, copper, and fluoride have gone beyond the safe range.

Mejia said that during the SP session last Sept. 1, Tawa Assistant General Manager Rodolfo Yumol assured that despite the increasing levels of the three substances, the water is still safe for human consumption, but still the board wants to make sure that it is indeed safe.

Mejia intends to consult the Department of Health’s (DoH) regional office on the finding to know the effects to public health and safety of the increasing levels of the substances in the Tawa water.

Mejia said that the Tawa had agreed that henceforth, she and Councilor Reamcy Adong, infrastructure committee chairman, will be present during the collection of water samples for physical and chemical test "to remove all doubts that the samples were taken elsewhere."

"We also recommended to Tawa more sampling points because we noticed that their present sampling points are not representative of all the areas in their coverage. For instance, they need to get samples in areas where many people congregate such as public markets," Mejia said.

On the complaints about murky and undesirable odor of Tawa water, Mejia quoted Yumol as saying that it is caused by "suction pressure" which happens when there is a sudden stoppage in water supply. This results in the entry of outside water into the pipeline through leaks.