New facilities to bring stronger water pressure

At least 19,000 households in the province of Cavite would have stronger water pressure in their tap after Maynilad Water Services Inc. completed the construction of a P466-million pumping facility and reservoir in the town of Kawit.

Maynilad, in a statement, yesterday said the new facility, which was part of the company’s program to expand water coverage in the southern part of its West Zone concession area, could store up to 35 million liters of water.

High-efficiency pumps

Set to start operating in September, the company said the facility is equipped with high-efficiency pumps designed to increase water pressure for consumers in the towns of Noveleta, Rosario and Kawit and Cavite City.

The statement quoted Ramoncito Fernandez, Maynilad president and chief executive, as saying the reservoir would allow Maynilad to store water during nonpeak hours and deliver this to consumers when demand is highest.

Fernandez said while Maynilad currently has 800,000 customers in Cavite, “there are still a lot of people in this area who are not yet connected to our network.”

 Overextraction

“Building new pumping stations and reservoirs will enable us to bring potable surface water to more areas in Cavite, where we hope to end communities’ reliance on groundwater supply,” he added.

“Overextraction of groundwater has a negative impact on the environment,” he said.

The completion of the Toclong Pumping Station and Reservoir brings to a total of 27 the number of Maynilad’s pumping station and 26 the number of its reservoirs.

Fernandez said the number of facilities increased almost four times from only seven operational pumping stations and seven reservoirs in 2006.

He said Maynilad was spending at least P1 billion this year to build more pumping stations and reservoirs and upgrade existing ones.