Maynilad ready for reduced water flow

Maynilad Water Services Inc. (Maynilad) said Monday that it was mobilizing its personnel and taking concrete steps to manage the effects of the El Niño phenomenon on its concession area’s water supply.

Among those mitigating measures were the prompt repair of pipe leaks and the extension of pumping stations’ operating hours, it said in a statement.

Maynilad added that it was also ready to deploy its four portable water treatment plants to hard-to-reach areas, reactivate several deep wells, install stationary tanks and send water tankers to severely affected areas.

Earlier, the National Water Resources Board reduced the Angat Dam supply allocation for Metro Manila from 41 cubic meters per second to 38 cubic meters per second starting this month to conserve water supply during the El Niño season.

Maynilad estimated that some 900 barangays (village) or 56 percent of its concession area would be affected by the cutback. Of the 56 percent, about 18 percent would be severely affected with water available for less than 12 hours.

To ensure that the limited supply would be maximized and all affected customers would have some water at certain times of the day, Maynilad would be implementing rotating service interruptions.

“We shall announce the date of the water service interruptions two days before implementation. This way, our affected customers will have enough time to store water,” said Ronaldo Padua, head of its water supply operations.

According to the water concessionaire, it has significantly enhanced its operational system since the last time El Niño was felt in the country in 2010, making it better prepared this time. In particular, Maynilad has increased water storage capacity from 281 million liters per day to 561 million liters per day after it built 11 new reservoirs on top of its existing 14. The company has also added 15 new pumping stations to its existing 11.

Maynilad services the west zone of the Greater Manila area composed of parts of Manila, Quezon City and Makati; Caloocan; Pasay; Parañaque; Las Piñas; Muntinlupa; Valenzuela; Navotas; and Malabon, all in Metro Manila; and parts of Cavite province.