MWSS vision: Water security legacy

Manila, Philippines – One year ago, during the last SONA, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) was singled out by President Aquino for all the wrong reasons. Board members at the time rewarded themselves with close to P5 million a year– as payment for unnecessarily numerous board meetings. Other agency officials had outrageous bonuses that totaled the equivalent of 30 months. It got so bad that payroll reached an obscene P211.5 million annually.

Today, barely six months into the job, Administrator Gerry Esquivel submitted to Malacanang a concise report for the first half of 2011. Even as it addressed daily housekeeping requirements, long-term visioning has been effected.

Stemming the hemorrhage

In his letter to the President, Esquivel laid out a “transformational plan” for the agency, the components of which are: Water infrastructure development and protection; natural water resource management and protection; disaster management and mitigation; management of water distribution, sewerage, and sanitation through concessionaire partnership; and water appreciation and discipline.

Esquivel wrote: “We have been laying the necessary groundwork for plans to flourish, amidst the day-to-day efforts at resolving current issues and the parallel transformation that is an urgency in our organization.” Resignation of board of directors occurred in May, and care was taken to replace them with people of “professional qualifications suited to the strategic development program of the agency.”

Breaking bad habits

There’s also good news for MWSS retirees. The agency promises to finally give them the “full complement of their retirement benefits” after 14 long years. Payments to claimants have begun July 20.

Another pressing issue is the controversial 58-hectare housing project for MWSS employees, plus a three-hectare executive village for the agency’s higher ups. One wonders why a housing program would raise hackles – until you discover that the proposed village would rise within the La Mesa Watershed, where the metro gets 97 percent of its water requirements.

“Board resolutions pertaining to the matter have been compiled and studied,” says the report. Next steps include gathering more evidence in the form of physical documents. Target completion is within this year. These steps alone constitute a big step in the right direction, but Esquivel and his team are not done yet. The revitalized MWSS team is set to have its first-ever strategic planning session.

The MWSS will also reassert its role as overseer of the premier metropolis’ water supply. While it is true that various aspects have been devolved to private concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad, who have to their credit fulfilled most of their key performance commitments, the ultimate responsibility for an adequate and safe water supply falls on MWSS.

To this end, MWSS officials will sit down with these two concessionaires to draw up a comprehensive Road Map for Water and Waste Management of Metro Manila. This will strengthen synergy, revisit standards and challenge old practices. Furthermore, using the concession agreement as guide, MWSS will redefine roles and relationships between it and the two concessionaires.

Future supply

One of the most ominous situations that our metropolis finds itself in is the almost exclusive reliance on the La Mesa watershed for our needs – which Chairman Ramon Alikpala likened to putting all our eggs in one basket.

The new MWSS board and management teams are prioritizing the exploration and development of water sources to augment the current stock. Studies on demand and pricing are also ongoing and are nearing completion. International agencies World Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency have given generous grants, and local partners like the University of the Philippines National Engineering Center and the National Water Resources Board have been asked to huddle up with the MWSS to come up with imaginative solutions.

A study of seven alternative priority water sources is in full swing. This is expected to address a demand gap of an estimated 500 million liters per day by 2015. This effort is expected to be completed in the last quarter of the year.

Management and protection

Part of assuring the future of our water supply is taking a look at infrastructure management and watershed protection.The Angat remediation, the first since the commencement of its operations in 1968, is being worked on in earnest. A memorandum of agreement for cooperation on the rehabilitation plan has been signed by concerned agencies. The budget for consultancy on structural assessment has been slashed to P44 million from P66 million. The second phase of the Angat Water Utilization and Aqueduct Improvement project has realized savings of P79 million.

MWSS is spearheading the creation of a “comprehensive watershed protection and management plan” for a number of watersheds including Umiray, Ipo, Angat, La Mesa, and Marikina, with other agencies and NGOs included in the effort. In addition, MWSS will also lead a “watershed planning summit,” the first of its kind, in December this year.

Even the Manila Bay continues to be under the watchful eyes of the agency, which tasked the concessionaires with sewer and sanitation coverage targets, treatment of pollution loadings, and such.

Rebasing and communications

In preparation for 2012 operations, the agency is scrutinizing its concessionaire partnership and business plan. These include rate rebasing preparations (which, ultimately, puts your monthly bill under the microscope).Today’s officials want to remedy that in a big way. Entitled “Water Appreciation and Discipline Communications” the plan is four-pronged and highly operationalized.

Visioning

Even as there are lots of things that have been done – and, more importantly, undone – the new dispensation at MWSS is sitting down to work on the future. From the extravagant non-performer, the MWSS has shed its mantle of shame to assert its role in assuring the water supply of the country’s premier metropolis – all while boasting good governance and a newfound value of austerity.

It’s time to go through the straight and narrow, indeed. –Nathaniel Frialde (The Philippine Star)