With summer drawing closer and its raw water supply allocation scheduled to be reduced further in the coming months, Maynilad is urging all Local Government Units (LGU) in the Greater Manila Area to pass ordinances advocating responsible water use in their respective areas.
The West Zone concessionaire is appealing to LGUs to institute appropriate measures, incentives and/or penalties to reduce wastage, pilferage, and imprudent use of water among residents, business owners and commercial establishments in their area. The need to educate consumers on the responsible use of water was also raised by the water company.
According to Maynilad, around 300 million liters a day (MLD) of water is lost due to illegal connections, illegal withdrawal of water from fire hydrants and meter tampering. Another 50 MLD is wasted due to indiscriminate use of water e.g. continuous flushing of toilets, faucets left open, etc.
Maynilad’s appeal comes on the heels of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s issuance of Administrative Order (AO) no. 278 providing measures for the optimum utilization of water resources in Metro Manila. The president called upon various government agencies and the private water concessionaires to undertake operating, policy and information dissemination measures to mitigate the effects of water shortages in Metro Manila.
In January, President Macapagal-Arroyo also issued a 60-day moratorium on all regulations, ordinances, memoranda, circulars, and other issuances that will prohibit or restrict the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and its concessionaires from doing leak repairs. The directive aims to empower the concessionaires in pursuing their programs in the most efficient manner to help lessen the effects of El Niño on Metro Manila’s water supply.
Maynilad serves over 7 million customers in Metro Manila and parts of Cavite. Its concession area includes the cities of Manila (all but portions of San Andres & Sta Ana), Quezon City (west of San Juan River, West Avenue, EDSA, Congressional, Mindanao Avenue, the northern part starting from the Districts of the Holy Spirit & Batasan Hills), Makati (west of South Super Hi-way), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon all in Metro Manila, and the municipalities of Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario in Cavite Province.
