Maynilad pours in P10 billion for La Mesa upgrades

MANILA, Philippines —  Maynilad Water Services Inc. has undertaken nearly P10 billion worth of upgrades at its La Mesa facilities as it prepares for potentially drier conditions associated with El Niño, which is expected to persist into the first half of 2027.

The completed and ongoing projects include improvements to water treatment, water recovery systems and raw-water storage to strengthen the West Zone concessionaire’s ability to manage changing water conditions.

During a media briefing yesterday, officials said Maynilad’s water supply system had more operating options in 2026 than during the 2019 El Niño episode, despite Angat Dam reaching a lower water level this year.

Angat Dam’s lowest level in July 2019 was 157.96 meters above sea level, compared with 150.42 meters in July 2026. Maynilad said it had since diversified its water sources, reduced water losses and expanded its treatment capacity.

Angat accounts for 83 percent of Maynilad’s total treatment capacity, down from 100 before before the development of alternative sources, including Laguna Lake treatment plants, modular facilities and deep wells where suitable.

The company also reported reducing daily water losses by more than 150 million liters between June 2025 and June 2026. As of yesterday, it had not implemented rotational water supply interruptions.

At La Mesa Treatment Plant 1, upgrades have increased its peak raw-water turbidity handling capability to 2,000 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU), from an original design capacity of around 300 NTU. Turbidity measures the cloudiness of water caused by suspended particles. Similar upgrades are ongoing at Treatment Plant 2.

Raw-water turbidity in the Angat-Ipo system reached around 1,800 NTU in 2012. Treatment Plant 1 recorded 818 NTU on Aug. 30, 2026.

“We continue to invest in La Mesa because water supply resilience depends not only on how much raw water is available, but also on how efficiently we can treat, recover and manage the water already within our system,” Maynilad chief operating officer Christopher Jaime Lichauco said.

Maynilad’s three water recovery and raw-water augmentation systems are designed to provide a combined capacity of 125 million to 170 million liters per day once fully operational. Systems 1 and 3 are operating, while System 2, which is expected to add 50 million to 70 million liters per day, is targeted for completion in December 2026.

The company has also converted former sludge lagoons into raw-water reservoirs. Lagoons 3 and 4 currently provide about 133 million liters of storage, with total capacity planned to reach 200 million liters by December 2026.

Asked about the bucket-based individual water filtration method floated by Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian, Maynilad vice president and head of water supply operations Ronaldo Padua said the method was generally suited to areas without access to surface water sources like those used by Maynilad.

“We are working to ensure that we can continue treating and supplying water despite the potential effects of El Niño, so that it will not come to a point where individual filtration systems using buckets would be needed,” Padua told The STAR.

The La Mesa upgrades form part of Maynilad’s broader supply strategy, which includes developing alternative water sources, reducing water losses and improving its distribution network. The company said the measures provide greater operational flexibility but do not eliminate the risk of severe or prolonged raw-water shortages.