The Operation and Management Practices of Local Water Districts in Eastern Pangasinan

Lyceum-Northwestern University Graduate Studies Page

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THE OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF LOCAL WATER DISTRICTS IN EASTERN PANGASINAN

_____________________

A Thesis

Presented to

The Faculty of the Graduate School

LYCEUM – NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

Dagupan City

_______________________________

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirement for the Degree

Master in Public Administration

By:

RACHAEL C. ESPINOZAMarch, 2012


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CERTIFICATION AND APPROVAL SHEET

This thesis entitled “THE OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF LOCAL WATER DISTRICTS IN EASTERN PANGASINAN has been prepared and submitted by RACHAEL C. ESPINOSA in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION” has been examined and is recommended for the Final Oral Examination on March 18, 2012 .

JOSEFINA B. BITONIO, DPA Adviser Thesis Committee

ROMANA O. FABREGAS, Ph.D.Chairman

JOSEPHINE T. FLORES, DPA CYNTHIA P. LOPEZ, Ph.D. Member Member

Approved on March 18, 2012 by the Panel of Examiners on Oral Examination with a grade of 96%.

ROMANA O. FABREGAS, Ph.DChairman

JOSEPHINE T. FLORES, DPA CYNTHIA P. LOPE, Ph.D. Member Member

Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION.

Comprehensive Exam 98% Date: July 3, 2010


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ROMANA O. FABREGAS, Ph.D. Dean, Graduate School

CERTIFICATION OF THE READING COMMITTEE

This is to certify that the undersigned members of the Reading Committee have read

the thesis entitled “THE OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT PRCTICES OF

LOCAL WATER DISTRICTS IN EASTERN PANGASINAN. The reading

committee found the thesis acceptable in accordance with the requirements and standards

in thesis writing. She is recommended for Final Oral Examination on his thesis on March

18, 2012.

ROMANA O. FABREGAS, Ph.D.Chairman

JOSEFINA B. BITONIO, DPA JOSEPHINE T. FLORES, DPA Adviser Member

CYNTHIA P. LOPEZ, Ph.D. Member


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researcher wishes to express her profound gratitude to all those who unselfishly

and contributed to the realization of this academic endeavor. Specifically, she invokes

the Almighty’s blessings upon the following:

Dr. Romana O. Fabregas, Dean of the Graduate School and Chairman of her panel

for the helpful suggestion, eloquent comments and guidance that greatly improved the

study;

She would like to express her gratitude to her adviser, Dr. Josefina B. Bitonio, for

the unwavering support, sacrifice, patience, understanding and for gladly sharing her

valuable time and expertise in the conduct of this research;

Dr. Josephine T. Flores and Dr. Cynthia P. Lopez of LNU Graduate School, who

served as panel members for their support and very useful comments;

Dr. Lucila M. Caccam, for her editorial advices and constructive comments and

assistance in reviewing the final version of the manuscript;

The researchers gratefully acknowledges the works of his sources, references,

journals, published papers and unpublished papers that made a concrete contribution to

this study. The Officers and staff of the nine Local Water Districts in Eastern


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Pangasinan namely: Balungao Water District, San Nicolas Water District, Umingan

Water District, San Manuel Water District, Metro Tayug Water District, San Quintin,

Water District, Sta. Maria Water District, Asingan Water District and Rosales Water

District for their cooperation and support for providing the needed data;

To all the employees of the Metro Tayug Water District for their support and endless

encouragement;

Deepest gratitude goes to her family, for their love, support and counseling

throughout her life and her dearest husband who served as her inspiration in the

completion of this thesis; and above all, to the Lord Almighty, for providing her the

needed strength, courage, wisdom and determination in pursuing this study.

RACHAEL C. ESPINOZA


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DEDICATION

Water remains to be one of the critical resources that support

the country’s economic and social development.

This study is dedicated to all

water service provider stakeholders for

them to respond to the pronounced need to

improve and expand water service coverage

and, thus, help ensure that potable water is

provided to every Filipino.


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THESIS ABSTRACT

Title The Operation and Management Practices of Local Water Districts in Eastern Pangasinan

Author RACHAEL C. ESPINOZA

Degree Master in Public AdministrationMajor in Major in Government Administration and Community Development

Institution Lyceum – Northwestern University Graduate Studies DepartmentDagupan City

Date March, 2012

Page 131

Adviser

Key Words

JOSEFINA B. BITONIO, DPA

Operation, Management Practices, Local Water Districts

Abstract

The study assessed the operation and management practices of the Local Water Districts in Eastern Pangasinan. The descriptive – evaluative design was used in the study to examine the LWDs organizational and management aspects as well as the benefits derived internally and externally stretching to community and other stakeholders. The organizational profile was made through a documentary analysis of a


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primary data from LWDs while two sets of questionnaire were used as primary data gathering tool for the qualitative assessment. There were 171 respondents of the study consisted of the managers, accountant or bookkeepers and members of the board of Directors and residential, commercial and industrial users for clients. The statistical tools used were frequency, percentage, average weighted means, and ranking.

1. Organizational Profile. 1.1 Service Connections. Of all the nine LWDs Out of the total nine LWDs three has a 1001 – 1500 service connection namely: Balungao WD, San Nicolas WD and Umingan WD; two LWDs has 501 – 2000 service connection, namely: San Manuel WD and Metro Tayug WD; San Quintin WD have 501 – 1000 service connection; Sta. Maria WD have 2001 – 2500; Asingan WD have 3029 service connections and Rosales have 4547 service connection. Simply put, Rosales WD has the highest service

connection and San Quintin has the lowest. 1.2 Population Served. Four LWDs namely: Asingan WD and Rosales WD are serving the greatest number of population. In contrast Balungao WD, San Nicolas WD, and Umingan are serving the lowest while Sta. Maria WD, San Manuel WD and Metro Tayug WD are serving 10,001 – 20,000. 1.3 Water Rate. The minimum water consumption is 10 cu.m. The nine LWDs have varying rate ranging from P 169 to P 299 (exclusive of 2% franchise tax). Rosales WD has the lowest water rate and with Asingan WD and San Nicolas WD the highest at P 299 each. San Manuel WD at P 199; Metro Tayug WD at P 204, Sta Maria WD at P 218, Umingan WD at P240, Balungao WD at P 262, San Quintin WD at P 295. 1.4 Collection Efficiency. As it turned out, the most efficient LWD in the collection of billed volume of water is Sta Maria WD at 98%, Rosales WD at 97.73, San Quintin WD, Umingan WD, San Nicolas WD all performed at 97% each, San Manuel WD at 94%, Balungao WD at 92.81% and Metro Tayug WD at 91.19%. 1.5 Water Production. The LWDs have a production ranging from 21,000 - 1,365,473. Rosales WD produces the highest volume of water at 1,365,473 cu.m., followed by Metro Tayug WD at 585,911cu.m., San Nicolas WD at 511,718 cu.m., Balungao WD at 386,911 cu.m., Umingan WD at 297,223 cu.m., San Manuel WD at 263,382 cu.m., Asingan WD at 45,778.60 cu.m., Sta. Maria WD at 40,924 cu.m. and San Quintin WD with 21,000 cu.m. 1.6 Non Revenue Water. Findings show the following efficiency ranking of the LWDs in NRW: Balungao WD as the most efficient at 13.84 % and Metro Tayug WD as the least efficient at 35.7%. The rest of the LWDs have the following NRW efficiency performance: Sta. Maria WD at 14%, Rosales WD with 14.90%, Asingan WD with 15%, San Nicolas WD with 17%, San Manuel WD with 19.50%, Umingan WD, and San Quintin WD 33%. 1.7 Connections per Employee. Of the nine LWDs, four were “overload” in service connection per employee namely: Asingan WD, Rosales WD, Sta. Maria WD, and Metro Tayug WD. Four LWDs were slightly overload namely: Balungao WD, San Manuel WD, San Nicolas WD, and Umingan WD. San Quintin WD was found to be “underload”. 2. Operation and Management Practices of LWDs. 2.1 Operational Practices. The following areas are the “highly practiced” by the LWDs: Board's participation in policy making and implementation of policies approved


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(4.44), Leak detection (4.33); pipe maintenance (4.55); Fixing problems on service disruptions (4.66); Conduct of Bacteriological tests (physical/chemical tests required annually) and chlorination for water testing (4.88); Water treatment & compliance with water quality standard (5.0); efficient collection (4.55); Availability of the facilities/equipments (4.22); On time billing (5.0); Availability of manpower whenever emergency arises, and (4.55); form the workforce into high performance teams (4.22). On the other hand, the remaining areas rated “practiced” as follows: Written Standard Operating Procedures for efficiency and effectiveness (4.11); upgrading of infrastructure (4.11); Progressive treatment for workers and stronger rights for workers (4); and use of information technology (3.77). The grand weighted mean resulted to 4.42 with a descriptive rating of “highly practiced”. 2.2 Management Practices. The practices that were rated “highly practiced” are: the implementation of cost effective ways to deliver services (4.22); Implementation cost efficiency measures of their operations (4.22); Decrease of delinquent accounts (4.77); Reliable customer services (4.55); Transparency and make clear exactly what customers are paying and their bills (4.88); Full

accountability for services and charges (4.88); Periodic savings (4.44); Human resources performance review (4.22); and Regular review of financial performance (4.55). The other practices which were rated “practiced” are Lowest Non revenue Water (4.0); Ability to attract investors for service expansion (3.55); regular human resources capability building (4.11); continuous improvement (4.11); Enabling and motivating workers to develop, share and apply their knowledge and skills more fully (4.11); and Take full advantage of advances in information technology (3.77).The overall grand weighted mean is 4.296 which a descriptive rating of “highly practiced”. 3. Benefits of the Stakeholders in Operating a Local Water District The findings of the study indicated that the stakeholders of LWDs “benefited” in terms of contributing to economic growth in local economy and stimulating growth (3.53); Working closely with local leaders and customers. (3.4); Able to access to technical assistance (3,98); enjoys tax exempt privilege (3.7); affordability of service rendered to customers (4.18); Partnership with NGOs, public sectors and private sectors for developments and other projects(3.42); and provision for social responsibility programs (3.34). Other benefits have been rated “slightly benefited” by LWD stakeholders in terms of the following: Access to development fund (3.21); Equity generation (3.23): and Institutional development programs (3.13). The overall grand mean is 3.51 with a descriptive rating of “benefited”. 4. Problems being Met by the LWDs in Eastern Pangasinan. 4.1 On the financial side, the ability to raise capital (3.28) has a descriptive rating of “serious”. The remaining problems such as limited revenue base (2.77); limited budget (3.31); and inability to meet growing demand (2.73). The overall mean for problems encountered under financial aspects resulted to 3.02 with a descriptive rating of “slightly serious”. 4.2 On technical aspects, the indicator difficulty to comply with water standards have a weighted mean 3.64 with a descriptive rating “serious” while the rest of the indicators such as: Lack of appropriate skills in performing duties (3.28); No operational manual formulated (2.87); and unclear instructions provided by the management (3.12) has a descriptive rating of “slightly serious”. The overall mean for


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problems under technical has a weighted mean of 3.12 with a descriptive rating of “slight serious”. 4.3 Human Relation aspects. Two problems on human relation: Lack of experience and expertise (3.43) and Poor performance of employees (3.47) have a descriptive rating of “serious” while the remaining two problems such as low compensation (2.79) and poor governance of officers (3.68) has a descriptive rating of “slightly serious”. The overall weighted mean is 3.34 with a descriptive rating “slightly serious”. The grand weighted mean for financial, technical and human relation is 3.16 with a descriptive rating of “slightly serious”. Based on the findings made, the following conclusions were drawn: 1. The LWDs in Eastern Pangasinan are small players in the water industry. 2.The LWDs in Eastern Pangasinan manifested low compliance with the acceptable limits set by the LWUA as shown by the differences in their water rate, labor productivity, collection efficiency and increasing non revenue water; 3. Operationally, the LWDs have limited funding to institute a development program for its human resource as well as for infrastructure upgrading and improving its processes with the use of information technology; 4. There are problems encountered by the LWDs. The most serious of which are: the ability to raise capital; difficulty to comply with water standards; lack of experience and expertise

and poor employee performance. Based from the conclusions made, the following recommendations are forwarded. 1. To strengthen the operation and management of LWDs in Eastern Pangasinan, they may gain access to LWUA’s varied development services, such as: financial assistance in the form of loans at concessionary rates; engineering/technical services and assistance on project identification, planning, detailed engineering sign, construction supervision of water projects, operation and maintenance of systems; and institutional development and regulatory services in the form of skills and management training, management advisory, water rates review/regulation, and water quality regulations; 2. All LWDs must have a written Operating Procedures as guide for it human resources in the implementation of its technical, financial, administrative processes and procedures and formulate rules and regulations for their enforcement geared towards effectiveness and efficiency of water utility management; 3. The LWDs should improve their compliance with LWUA. With a high compliance performance in placed, it is expected that it would translate to more benefits and sustainability of the LWDs; and 4. Finally, the intervention measures p roposed by the researcher grouped into three areas of concerns: Operation and Management, Financial, and Human Resource are offered.


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The Operation and Management Practices of Local Water Districts in Eastern Pangasinan

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