Scenes like this may again become a familiar sight in parts of Metro Manila and Cavite province this Holy Week. Maynilad on Thursday said service improvement works from April 16 to 20 will cause supply cutoffs lasting five to 30 hours. —JAM STA. ROSA
MANILA, Philippines — Ongoing water interruptions in parts of Parañaque City, Muntinlupa City, Pasay City, Las Piñas City, and Cavite may extend past May 16, the initial target date set by Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad).
Maynilad corporate communications head Jennifer Rufo attributed this to “decreased efficiency” in Maynilad’s Putatan water plants due to “prolonged exposure” to highly turbid water from Laguna Lake.
Turbidity refers to the concentration of sediment in the water, according to Rufo.
“Posible po na mapalawig [ang May 16 target] pa dahil na-expose po yung ating planta sa prolonged high turbidity. Medyo naapektuhan po yung efficiency niya, so mayroon na rin po kaming kailangan na i-repair na gawin dito po sa nagle-leak na ultrafiltration valve sa loob ng planta,” Rufo explained in a Thursday interview with DZBB.
(It’s possible that the May 16 target will be extended because our plant was exposed to prolonged high turbidity. Their efficiency was affected, so there are now some necessary repairs we need to conduct on the leaking ultrafiltration valve in the plant.)
READ: Maynilad: Daily water interruption in Parañaque, Pasay, Cavite until May 16
Turbidity levels were consistently decreasing as of April 14 according to the water provider, but it again reported sediment spikes as of April 23.
“Unfortunately po noong Linggo, tumaas po ulit yung turbidity [at] naging malabo na naman siya, so we were constrained po na i-extend po muna ulit yung daily interruptions na nakatalaga po ng southern portion ng ating concession,” she stated.
(Unfortunately, turbidity rose again on Sunday and waters turned cloudy again, so we were constrained to extend the daily interruptions assigned to the southern portion of our concession.)
According to Rufo, 55 mobile water tankers and 86 stationary water tanks have been deployed to severely affected areas.
No 24-hour water interruption
Rufo asserted that amid ongoing cutoffs, no area in Maynilad’s concession should go 24 hours without water.
“Wala pong dapat umabot na 24 hours na walang tubig. We strive na mayroon pa rin pong supply availability window para sa lahat,” she assured.
(No one will go up to 24 hours without water. We strive to ensure supply availability windows for all.)
Rufo clarified that water interruptions should only range from 7-20 hours, with longer disruptions in areas with higher elevation.
“Average of 12 hours sa lahat. ‘Yung iba po as short as 7 hours, pero mayroon pong aabot po ng 20 hours— yung mga nasa dulo po ng lugar,” Rufo said.
(Average of 12 hours in all areas. In some areas, it will be as short as 7 hours, but in some places, interruptions will reach 20 hours— those in the far margins of their areas.)
“Iba’t ibang oras po kasi depende po ‘yan sa kanilang elevation at sa layo po nila sa ating mga pumping station,” she clarified.
(Interruption durations will vary depending on the elevation and distance of your area from our pumping stations.)
Muntinlupa water treatment facility
Maynilad sees a long-term solution to future water shortages in its Poblacion treatment plant under construction in Brgy. Putatan, Muntinlupa.
“Yung dalawa po natin na existing na plant sa Brgy. Putatan, 300 million liters per day yung output niyan, na sagad na po sa pangangailangan ng kasalukuyang customers. So para po may long term solution, nagtatayo po tayo ng bagong planta,” Rufo explained.
(Our two existing plants in Brgy. Putatan produce an output of 300 million liters per day, which is just enough for the needs of our current customers. So we are putting up this new plant so that we have a long term solution.)
“Kailangan po natin ng additional supply talaga para sa kasong meron po tayong, for example, maintenance works sa existing plants na mababawasan po ang produksyon niya. Meron tayong additional supply from the new treatment plant,” she said.
(We really need additional supply for cases in which we have, for example, maintenance works in existing plants that will cause a decrease in production. We’ll have additional supply from the new treatment plant.)
Maynilad previously announced that the new plant should be fully operational by the first half of 2024 and will have the capacity to produce 150 million liters of potable water daily.