THE Quezon Metropolitan Water District (QMWD) remains not fully compliant with Department of Health (DOH) Administrative Order No. 2017-010, which sets the standards and procedures on drinking water quality in the country to protect public health, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).
The Compliance Audit report released on June 26, 2025 by the COA showed the water district has already developed its Water Safety Plan (WSP) back in 2016 but only submitted the finalized version on May 13, 2024 to the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), thus, it failed to obtain the DOH approval.
A WSP is a risk management approach to maintain an adequate water supply that is safe from contamination or waterborne diseases.
Under the system, the local water district will submit a draft of its WSP to the LWUA which will then endorse the plan to the DOH, unless there is a needed revision.
“It was noted that to date, there was no certificate of acceptance yet by the DOH for the LWUA-evaluated WSP. It was after the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) in June 2018, in coordination with Primewater, that they were able to submit updated versions of the WSP,” the audit team said.
The QMWD provides water to 285,320 concessionaires in Lucena City, Tayabas City, and the municipality of Pagbilao.
Auditors recommended that the general manager of the QMWD coordinate with the DOH for the issuance of a Certificate of Acceptance of its WSP considering that the LWUA had already completed its evaluation as of September 4, 2024.
On the other hand, the audit team also called out the water district over its incomplete water quality surveillance that was supposed to ensure that the water it is delivering to the public is free from harmful contaminants, chemical substances, and radionuclides that could constitute health hazards.
“Evaluation of the submitted water test results disclosed that only microbiological examination was conducted and none for the physical, chemical, and radiological examinations,” the COA said.
It said the tested samples passed the safety limits set under the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW).
“The audit team was informed that there was a report submitted by Primewater containing the physical, chemical, and radiological analysis of water samples, hence management is unsure whether there were examinations done for the same purposes,” auditors said.
At the same time, the audit team noted that the water district did not present any document as proof that it coordinated with Primewater to address the deficient water quality tests.
