Metro water supply shortage until August feared

WATER IS LIFE.  Residents of Barangka Drive in Mandaluyong City fill their containers with water from a fire truck amid a water shortage gripping the city and other parts of Metro Manila and Rizal province. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines – The water supply crisis gripping parts of Metro Manila and nearby areas may persist until August, water concessionaire Manila Water told Mandaluyong City Mayor Carmelita Abalos.

In a phone interview with INQUIRER.net on Wednesday, Jimmy Isidro of the Mandaluyong Public Information Office said that Manila Water informed the city government that the situation would only normalize by August.

Mayor Abalos, along with other city officials met with Manila Water personnel last Monday to discuss measures that would be taken after the city suffered a water supply shortage.

“Sabi nila magno-normalize daw yan by August pagka umulan na. Kasi ang main source lang sa eastern is La Mesa [Dam] and La Mesa is very critical right now,” Isidro said.

(They said it would normalize by August when it starts raining.)

“Kaya kami nagpi-pray kami ng ulan, sana umulan. Sana nga bumagyo para mapuno eh,” he added.

(That is why we are praying for rain.  We hope it rains.  We hope a storm comes.)

Over the weekend, the water elevation of the La Mesa Dam breached its critical level of 69 meters, dropping to 68.93 meters.

READ: La Mesa Dam water breaks critical level 

Residents of Metro Manila and parts of Rizal have been affected by water supply interruptions since March 7.

According to Isidro, 12 of Mandaluyong’s 27 barangays have experienced low to zero water supply while the rest are affected by low water supply.

He added that Mayor Abalos has urged car wash establishments to refrain from using excessive water and reminded residents to save up on water.

Other than Mandaluyong City, Manila Water also supplies water to consumers in the Pateros and the cities of Makati, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig, Marikina, most parts of Quezon City, San Andres and Santa Ana in Manila as well as in the municipalities and/or cities of Angono, Antipolo, Baras, Binangonan, Cainta, Cardona, Jalajala, Morong, Pililia, Rodriguez, San Mateo, Tanay, Taytay and Teresa in Rizal.

The east zone concessionaire has earlier said it will issue a new advisory announcing a new schedule of water supply interruptions.

READ: Manila Water: No water in some areas for 20 hours 

“Sabi nila sa mga interviews, maglalabas sila ng bagong scheduling, sana naman yung schedule na yon tumama. Kasi mahirap eh, ang hirap talaga sa totoo lang,” Isidro said.

(They said that they would release a new schedule, we hope that the schedules are correct.  Our situation is very tough.)

“Yung release nila sa Facebook na 9 to 11 (a.m.) hindi na nasusunod eh, kaya meron talaga, yung limang barangay namin is totally zero eh,” he added.

(Their Facebook announcement said 9m to 11 a.m., but it did not happen. Five of our barangays have zero water.) / gsg