Maynilad customers face water crisis by September

Water faucets in Metro Manila’s west zone or those serviced by Maynilad Water Services Inc. may end up dry in the next two months should the rains continue to miss the Angat dam in Bulacan. Herbert Consunji, Maynilad Water officer-in-charge, said in a press conference Monday that this is the likely worst-case scenario facing the utility’s concession in the light of the continued depletion of the Angat dam’s reserves.

“Kapag umabot tayo ng September [without rains], then we might be at critical level, kasi ang critical 120 [meters]. Pagka ganoon, technically wala na tayong tubig sa Metro Manila [If we reach September without rains, then we might be at a critical level because the critical level is 120 meters. If that is the scenario, technically there would be no water in Metro Manila],” he added.

On Sunday, the water level at the Angat dam receded to 157.56 meters, way below the critical level of 180 meters, since the recent rains have largely missed the facility.

Reserves at the reservoir, which provides 97 percent of Metro Manila’s drinking water supply, has been decreasing since the start of the year because of the dryspell brought about by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

As a result, 18 percent, or 1.1 million of Maynilad’s 6.3 million customers are experiencing zero- to six-hour water supply schedules.

The areas severely affected by the water shortage include 117 barangays in Manila, Caloocan, Quezon City, Parañaque, Malabon, Navotas, Las Piñas and Valenzuela.

To ease the water supply problem in its concession, Consunji said that Maynilad has been conducting regular system adjustments in their pipe distribution network.

Mitigating measures

The utility has also deployed water tankers, installed stationary water tanks, reactivated deep wells and implemented an intensified leak repair program since February.

The company has also started drawing water supply from Manila Water Co. Inc., the piped-water provider in the east zone of Metro Manila.

Manila Water has yet to be affected by the water shortage because of its lower non-revenue water (NRW) of about 14 percent compared with Maynilad’s 57 percent.

NRW is the percentage of the utilities’ water supply that are lost either through system leaks or pilferage.

Besides the said mitigating measures, Consunji said that the utility will recommend several policy measures to regulators to further help its supply situation in the short- to medium- term.

Maynilad, in particular, plans to ask regulators to increase its water supply allocation of 2,400 million liters a day (MLD) from the Angat dam. Manila Water’s allocation is pegged at 1,600 MLD under a 60-40 sharing with the former.

“Ang sinasabi namin, kagapag bumababa ang water level, kung pupwede, kapag bumababa, gawin naman 75-25 for example. Ika-calibrate, so we have a consistent water supply para hindi pabagobago ang scheduling namin [What we are saying is should the water levels at Angat go down, that we be allowed a 75-25 sharing for example with Manila Water. Let us recalibrate the sharing so our water scheduling does not have to be changed],” Consunji said.

Maynilad also plans to seek regulators’ and Manila Water’s nod for a joint sharing in the La Mesa dam’s operations. The said reservoir allows the latter to store water from the Angat before it distributes this to its customers.

Consunji said that Maynilad’s previous owners, the Lopez Group, ceded the utility’s rights over the facility to the Ayala-led Manila Water when the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s (MWSS) concessions were privatized to the two utilities more than a decade ago.

Allowing Maynilad to share in the La Mesa dam would also give it additional storage facility, he added.

Consunji said that they would also ask the government to stop the privatization of the Angat dam and instead hand over its operations to the MWSS to promote transparency in the release of water from the facility.

Government, through the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., earlier declared Korea Water Resources Development Corp. as the highest bidder for the 218-megawatt Angat hydroelectric plant with its offer of $440.88 million.

Although only the power plant component of the dam was privatized, Korea Water will be obligated to operate and maintain the facility once it is officially declared the winning bidder. –EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO REPORTER, Manila Times