Maynilad gets high marks for water quality

MANILA, Philippines - West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. has been given a 100 percent satisfactory compliance rating by the Metro Manila Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Committee (MMDWQMC) for the entire third quarter of the year, the company announced.

Maynilad said the MMDWQMC tests water samples on a monthly basis from over 866 points spread throughout its concession area.

“While the committee only requires Maynilad to maintain 807 sampling points, the water company voluntarily expanded its sampling coverage since its reprivatization in 2007,” said Maynilad president and CEO Ricky P. Vargas.

“We are committed to providing our customers with potable water which is why we are doing more than what is required of us to be able to stay true to this commitment.”

Water collected from designated sampling points is tested for microbiological quality, as well as for physical (taste, color, odor and turbidity) and chemical properties (residual chlorine, pH, hardness, metals, pesticides etc.).

The test is done to ensure that the water quality meets the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW) of the Department of Health (DOH). Maynilad said it has been receiving a 100 percent compliance rating since 2010.

The MMDWQMC is composed of representatives from the DOH, various local government units in Metro Manila, Environmental Management Bureau, National Water Resources Board, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Regulatory Office, and the two MWSS concessionaires.

The health guidelines for the PNSDW are based on World Health Organization standards.

Maynilad is owned and managed by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and DMCI Holdings Inc. It serves the cities of Manila (all but portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana), Quezon City (west of San Juan River, West Avenue, EDSA, Congressional, Mindanao Avenue, the northern part starting from the districts of the Holy Spirit and Batasan Hills), Makati (west of South Super Highway), 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.