West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) is mobilizing efforts to manage the effects of El Niño on its concession area’s water supply.
This after the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) reduced the Angat Dam supply allocation for Metro Manila from 41 cms (cubic meters per second) to 38 cms beginning this September, in an effort to preserve the water supply during El Niño season.
Among Maynilad’s mitigating measures are system adjustments to manage the reduced supply, prompt repair of pipe leaks, and extension of operating hours of pumping stations. The company is 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.
At 38 cms allocation, Maynilad estimates that some 900 barangays or 56% of its concession area will experience the impact of the raw water supply cutback. Of this 56%, about 18% will be severely affected, with water available to these areas for less than 12 hours.
To ensure that the limited supply will be maximized and that all affected customers will have some water at least at certain times of the day, Maynilad will 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 Engr. Ronaldo Padua, Head of Maynilad’s Water Supply Operations.
Since the last El Niño in 2010, Maynilad has significantly enhanced its operational efficiencies and made system and infrastructure improvements, making it better prepared for this latest El Niño episode. It has increased water storage capacity from 281 million liters (ML) to 561 ML after it constructed 11 new reservoirs to add to its existing 14. The company has also added 15 new pumping stations to its existing 11.
In addition, Maynilad’s campaign to reduce water loss or Non-Revenue Water (NRW) has brought NRW in the West Zone down from 53% in 2010 to 32% by June 2015. This translates to over 400 MLD (million liters per day) of recovered water that the company can deliver to its customers.
With these investments, Maynilad has improved capacity to manage the limited supply during El Niño.
Maynilad is an agent and contractor of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, which is composed of the cities of Manila (certain areas), Quezon City (certain areas), Makati (certain areas), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon—all in Metro Manila; the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario—all in Cavite Province.