By DANNY O. SAGUN

WE’RE getting used to the practice of obtaining our drinking water supply from water refilling stations which for the last few years have mushroomed in almost every corner and street. But how safe is water from these stations – be they mineral, purified or living?
Water from two refilling stations in the city were found to be positive of E. coli bacteria in an inspection at the height of the cholera epidemic in Malasiqui and San Carlos in 2004, according to regional health director Eduardo Janairo during the launching of the Safe Water System project at Lenox Hotel last Wednesday.
One interesting point he raised was this; The longer the process in purifying water the more is the possible contamination. His statement contradicts the claims of some refilling stations that they have the better system over others as their water, they say, passes thru several stages of purification. Janairo said that could not be true unless a regular monthly check up on the system is made.

Can we say that all the refilling stations all over the city and in all towns in Pangasinan have been regularly undergoing monthly testing of their facilities? We don’t think so.
We spend P25 to P50 for a 5-gallon container, that ubiquitous round-shaped plastic container or the flat-faucet type we see in offices and homes. In a week, a family of six may spend P100 to P200 or P400 to P800 in a month.
Now, think of this: A disinfectant solution called Hyposol by health authorities will soon be available in the market. A 100 ml hyposol solution costs only P25. It can treat or disinfect 28 containers of water from unsafe sources – from the river, shallow wells, creeks, and even sea water (salty taste remains though).
E. coli and other bacteria present in such unsafe water are killed after 30 minutes of treatment. Unlike chlorine-treated water which spurns many because of its taste, hyposol-treated water tastes just like your ordinary water from your well or faucet.
Savings run to P434 a month for a family that spends up to P450 for their water needs as supplied by refilling stations.
Racky Doctor, once a neighbor when our PIA office was still at the quake-destroyed YMCA building, now the local hyposol supplier, vows he will see to it that his company will not run out of stock when his solution clicks in the near future.
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Three telecommunication companies operating cell sites in our humble town of San Jacinto were reported not paying their yearly business permits. Even with only P20, 000 to be slapped on each of them, the town could have been earning some P60,000 per year, already a big amount for a small town, according to acting Treasurer Eduardo Gamboa.
But why the temerity of these big business firms to operate without paying their dues to the municipality? Technically, they could not be compelled to pay because the sangguniang bayan failed to stipulate such obligations in the resolutions approved by the body allowing the companies to erect their cell sites there.
Ed says the town’s tax code, which came out before cellular phones became popular, is silent about imposing such obligations to telecom companies. The remedy perhaps is to inject some amendments in the resolutions or an update on the municipal tax ordinance, he says.
We cannot imagine how indifferent such firms are to their obligations — to think that they are earning billions out of their operations, which sad to note, are not that customer-friendly. Time and again glitches do not allow us to make calls or texts. Text messages arrive late. And because of unlimited calls and text promos, contacting the other party has been rendered that much more difficult.
We hope our town officials will now fix matters. Sayang so naalmoy baley komon. We wonder if they were that quick to fix things with the firms when the latter were still begging for an authority to operate.