No more water service stops in Maynilad area due to Lando

MANILA, Philippines — More than half of the customers of Maynilad Water Services Inc. have been spared of water service interruptions as Typhoon “Lando” raised the water level in Angat Dam to 203 meters above sea level (masl).

Maynilad announced it “suspended until further notice” the implementation of a supply-management scheme that lasted up to seven hours during off-peak consuming hours — 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. — starting last Sunday.

The service interruptions started on Sept. 16 when the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) reduced the water supply for Metro Manila — released from the Angat Dam and used as raw water for domestic services — from 41 cubic meters per second to 38 cms.

Maynilad said this affected 56 percent of its customers, mainly those residing in elevated areas.

Before Lando dumped heavy rains in Luzon, water at Angat was pegged at 194.15 masl or almost 10 meters below the level observed Tuesday morning.

“This water elevation has increased our confidence that we will have enough supply to mitigate the impact of the strong El Niño on Maynilad’s production level,” said Ronaldo Padua, head of Maynilad’s water production group.

“(W)e will monitor how long this level can be sustained, and if it is enough to meet Metro Manila’s water supply requirements until the middle of 2016 when we expect the El Niño episode to end,” Padua said in a statement.

He said Maynilad would give two days’ advance notice should water levels decrease again and it be forced to resume water supply interruptions.

On the other hand, the Manila Water Company Inc. is maintaining its pressure-reduction measures, but it will wait for advise from the government-led El Niño technical working group (TWG) on whether allocation of water releases from Angat will be increased.

Since Sept. 21, Manila Water has been lowering water pressure for some of its customers, also during off-preak hours or 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

“There will be protocols to follow and we need to hear from the TWG on whether supply allocations from Angat will be increased before we make any changes,” said Jeric T. Sevilla Jr., head of Manila Water’s corporate communications group.

In an interview, Sevilla explained that the El Niño TWG — which included the NWRB — has been holding weekly meetings during which the group “recalibrates supply projections” to make decisions related to allocations.  SFM