The National Water Resources Board (NWRB) announced that it will retain the current raw water allocation for the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) from Angat Dam at 50 cubic meters per second (CMS) from April 1 to 15, 2023. NWRB did not grant the request of Maynilad through the MWSS that the allocation be increased to 52 CMS.
At 50 CMS, we expect that the volume of raw water flowing to the Novaliches Portal in Quezon City will still be at reduced levels. Given this, the current daily water service interruptions will remain in place, but the interruption schedules to be implemented starting April 1, 2023 have been adjusted to account for the full suspension of the cross-portal sharing arrangement between Maynilad and Manila Water.
The complete list of affected areas and their corresponding interruption schedules are available on Maynilad’s website, and Facebook and Twitter accounts. Customers are advised to remember the assigned interruption schedule in their area so they can store water in advance.
To mitigate the impact of the reduced available supply, Maynilad is facilitating its supply augmentation measures, which include the reactivation of deep wells and commissioning of modular treatment plants to produce more water from alternate sources, and the continued repair of pipe leaks and replacement of old pipelines to recover more water for distribution. The company is also making available around 100 mobile water tankers for deployment, as needed. It has installed 83 stationary water tanks (SWT) in strategic locations, and is purchasing more SWTs for additional water storage.
We also continue to work with the MWSS and Manila Water to fast-track projects that will arrest losses along the aqueducts so that the flow of raw water supply to the Novaliches Portal will improve.