‘Dry spell’ delayed, thanks to busted valve

A RESIDENT heeding Maynilad’s earlier advisory stocks up on water in Brgy. 283 Muella Del Industria, Binondo, Manila. RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines–Customers of Maynilad Water Services were spared from a dry Holy Week but may still face a supply cutoff in the next few days.

This was after Maynilad canceled the service interruptions that were supposedly scheduled from Maundy Thursday to Black Saturday in about 800 barangays in Metro Manila and neighboring Cavite province.

In a statement, the utility firm said it was forced to cancel the scheduled pipe realignment activity on Juan Luna and Hermosa streets in Blumentritt, Manila, because of a defective 30-year-old valve.

“The valve could not totally close off our primary line because it had a worn-out disc. With water continuously flowing into our primary line, it became impossible for our contractor to realign a water pipe that would allow a flood interceptor box culvert of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to cross over the same pipe,” it explained.

Maynilad said it had advised the DPWH-National Capital Region office about this “unfortunate and unforeseen development” and that it would hold a meeting with its engineers after Holy Week to determine an alternative solution.

Maynilad’s corporate communications chief Cherubim Mojica on Saturday said there was no new schedule yet regarding the pipe-realignment project.

Asked if Maynilad would still be having service interruptions, Mojica explained that “at this point, we can’t be certain.”

“We need to revisit our engineering plans because of that defective valve. More importantly, we have to consider our customers because doing pipe realignment on a regular week would have a bigger impact on them,” she added. Jerry E. Esplanada