MANILA, Philippines — Maynilad Water Services Inc. on Monday announced daily water service interruption across Metro Manila starting March 28 and 29 to conserve water as the El Niño phenomenon looms.
Maynilad tweeted that customers in portions of Bacoor City, Caloocan City, Cavite City, Imus City, Las Pinas City, Makati City, Malabon City, Manila, Navotas City, Paranaque City, Pasay City, Quezon City, Valenzuela City, and Rosario, Noveleta, and Kawit in Cavite province will go waterless starting March 28 and 29 from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m.
“[This is] part of a measure to preserve our limited water stores, given the increased likelihood of an El Niño phenomenon happening by the latter half of 2023,” it said.
Maynilad said the water service interruptions will last depending on the actual raw water volume that its treatment plants will receive and the actual rainfall that will occur at the watersheds.
“While the elevation in Angat Dam, which provides 90% of the raw water supply for the West Zone, is still at a healthy level as of mid-March, sufficient rains are not expected to fall over the watersheds in the succeeding months to replenish the dams,” it said.
The west zone concessionaire said that it has existing supply augmentation measures, such as the reactivation of deep wells and the commissioning of modular treatment plants.
However, these will only mitigate the impact of a shortage that can happen if stored water in Angat Dam dips further, given the expected dry spell, Maynilad said.
It also advised its customers to store enough water for the hours when service is interrupted, further telling them to keep water stored in clean, covered containers.
“Upon resumption of water service, please expect some discoloration in the supply. This is a normal consequence of service interruptions, as the returning supply scours the naturally occurring mineral deposits inside the pipelines,” Maynilad said.
It advised customers to let the water flow briefly until it clears, but only use the initial flow of water for non-drinking purposes, such as for flushing toilets.
“In case needed, our mobile water tankers are on standby ready to deliver potable water,” Maynilad added.
Our customers in portions of Bacoor City, Caloocan City, Cavite City, Imus City, Kawit, Cavite, Las Pinas City, Makati City, Malabon City, Manila, Navotas City, Noveleta, Cavite, Paranaque City, Pasay City, Quezon City, Rosario, Cavite and Valenzuela City
<1/12> pic.twitter.com/Hl94VFYyEV— Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (@maynilad) March 27, 2023
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) earlier upgraded its monitoring of oceanic temperatures to an El Niño Watch, which means that there is a high likelihood that El Niño phenomenon would develop in the next six months.
READ: Pagasa issues El Niño Watch; urges public to prepare for warm, dry season