Maynilad to boost water reservoir by 200 million liters

MANILA, Philippines — Maynilad Water Services Inc. is spending P686 million to convert sludge lagoons inside the La Mesa compound into an impounding reservoir to expand its water storage capacity.

The prospective six-meter deep impounding reservoir could store around 200 million liters of raw water supply flowing in from the Angat-Ipo Dam system, according to the west zone concessionaire.

For the project, the water utility firm is repurposing four existing sludge lagoons at the La Mesa Compound in Quezon City, which used to serve as disposal site for the sludge produced by the water treatment process.

The additional raw water reserve will augment the supply of the company’s La Mesa Treatment Plant 1 especially during times that water inflows from the dam system drops due to lack of rains o reduced government allocations.

“Since our La Mesa Treatment Plant rehabilitation program already included the construction of new sludge treatment facilities, the existing sludge lagoons could be put to better use as a storage site for raw water,” Maynilad Water Supply Operations head Ronald Padua said.

“By repurposing the lagoons, we can maximize the value of the site and help address our need for increased water storage,” Padua added.

The repurposing of the sludge lagoons will be completed by the fourth quarter, making the new reservoir the firm’s lone storage for raw water as its 38 existing ones are for treated water.

The new water reservoir will also serve as a settlement basin, allowing for particles in the raw water to settle by gravity so that the water supply entering the treatment plant is less turbid, according to Maynilad.

This, the firm said, would make water treatment process easier, especially during the rainy season when instances of high turbidity in the raw water supply become more frequent.

“This reservoir will not only increase our water storage capacity but also help us sustain water service even during challenging periods of high turbidity and reduced water inflows from Angat and Ipo Dams. This will greatly help in our effort to provide reliable water supply for our customers,” Maynilad COO Randolph Estrellado said.