No water shortage yet in Metro’s Maynilad Water

HONG KONG’s Maynilad Water Services Inc., the water concessionaire operating the western zone part of Metro Manila, is not opposed to the development of the Laiban Dam project in Tanay, Rizal but has objected the proposed “take or pay” provision of the agreement.

Maynilad president Rogelio Singson told Filipino reporters here in a briefing that the take or pay provision of the agreement would allegedly result in higher water bill for households.

“In terms of protecting consumers, the best thing is not to enter in to take or pay arrangement,” Singson said.

The company claimed that initial estimated showed that households would pay an additional P10 per cubic meter from the current rate of P26 per cubic meter.

Singson said there could be alternative sources of water other than the proposed Laiban Dam. He said that instead of developing the project under a take or pay arrangement proposed by San Miguel Corp., Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System could implement the project through a government-to-government loan, with Maynilad and Ayala-owned Manila Water Co. paying concession fees to MWSS.

MWSS, meanwhile said there was no legal impediment to a take-or-pay agreement, as long as parties agreed to the specific terms and stipulations.

“The nature of take-or-pay for water is very different from the take-or-pay for electricity, one major difference being that consumers can always store water. We believe the application of either take-or-pay or take-and-pay would redound to the benefit of all parties concerned?the proponent, the government and, more importantly, the consumers,” MWSS said.

Singson said there was no rush in developing Laiban Dam because it did not need additional water until 2017.

“Right now we are losing 1,400 million liters per day of water due to non-revenue water, if we can reduce our NRW, then we can have additional water, which we can use,” Singson said.

“We don’t need additional water. Over the short term period we don?t need it,” he added.

MWSS said the Laiban Dam project was conceived as the next water supply for Metro Manila, citing the limited capacity of Angat Dam?s 4,000 MLPD.

Angat Dam is also considered vulnerable because it is right on the Marikina Valley System Fault. The main dike straddles the fault, which stretches from the Taal Lake area to Angat River. –Jenniffer B. Austria, Manila Standard Today