Manila Water seeks permit for massive pipe-laying along Edsa

MANILA, Philippines–Manila Water Company wants to replace its pipelines along the 23-kilometer-long Edsa, a project ahead of the planned road repairs of the Department of Public Works and Highways that may take at most 16 months to be completed.

For Manila Water, it would not only be practical to replace the old water pipes on Edsa before the rehabilitation works of the DPWH but urgent, as well.

“In the last two years, there were at least 50 leakage incidents in the main pipelines. This year alone, we observed five,” said Jeric Sevilla, spokesperson for Manila Water.

In its presentation to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Manila Water said the pipes along Edsa are “deteriorated and in need of replacement” as these were built as early as 1963.

The water pipelines, measuring a total of 14 kilometers, are divided into 12 segments located in the cities of Makati, Mandaluyong, and Quezon. One of these segments is the five-kilometer line along Edsa’s northbound lane from Guadalupe to Boni Serrano Avenue.

Manila Water is now crafting a work plan, including a traffic management strategy, which would still be subject to the approval of the DPWH and the MMDA officials.

According to its initial proposal, Manila Water pitched in five possible work schedules. One of them was nonstop work from Monday to Sunday, which would take the water company seven months to complete the project, Sevilla said.

The pipe-laying would be finished in two years and two months, however, if the water service provider will do the work only on weekends.

“The best time to do this is summer when the traffic volume is lower,” Sevilla said. The pipe-laying is part of the preparatory phase of the Edsa rehabilitation project which President Aquino has recently ordered deferred.

Manila Water has yet to assess how much it needs to complete rehabilitation work.