The water supply in La Carlota City was disrupted following a suspected blockage of two spring sources due to ashfall from the minor eruption of Mount Kanlaon.
Personnel from the local water district conducted an inspection of the spring sites to determine the cause of the water outage.
The incident coincided with ashfall reported after the volcano’s minor explosive eruption, which blanketed parts of the city with ash up to an inch thick.
In an interview with Bombo Radyo Bacolod, La Carlota City Mayor Rex Jalando-on said authorities suspect that the ashfall clogged the city’s two spring water sources, halting the flow of water.
The mayor noted that accessing the spring areas was difficult due to their remote, uninhabited location and the thick ash that now covers the trees and terrain.
Mayor Jalando-on expressed gratitude to neighboring towns and cities, as well as the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental, for providing assistance through water filtration equipment and fire trucks.
He shared that only four to five additional families were added to the list of evacuees, primarily from Barangay Ara-al and Barangay San Miguel.
While the city owns a water filtration truck, Jalando-on acknowledged it is not enough to serve all affected sitios due to the widespread impact.
The Provincial Government deployed another filtration truck to support relief efforts, while localities such as Bago City, Victorias City, Cadiz City, and Murcia contributed fire trucks.
The water delivered by fire trucks is used both for household needs and to flush ash from the streets to help restore mobility and safety in the area.