Water interruption may last until March 2020

MANILA,Philippines — The water shortage in Metro Manila will continue until next year, regulators revealed during a hearing at the House of Representatives yesterday.

Officials of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) and Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) told lawmakers that residents of Metro Manila would continue to experience rotational service interruption until March 2020 and might even again experience lack of supply in summer next year should there be no replenishment of supply in the dams.

NWRB executive director Sevillo David Jr. said the MWSS had decreased its allocation to water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water Co. Inc. to manage Angat’s water supply to make it last until next summer. 

“As of today, PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) projects that the level of Angat Dam might drop to less than 190 meters if no significant rainfall comes within the year,” David told the House committee on Metro Manila development committee during the hearing.

“Our available supply could last until summer next year, but we really have to manage it well and that means we need to continue with irregular allocation of water supply for Metro Manila,” David stressed.

Committee chairman Manila Rep. Manuel Luis Lopez asked the government regulatory offices if they have contingency plans to address the problem.

In response, MWSS administrator Emmanuel Salamat said there is a need to pursue the Sumag River diversion project in Quezon to address the water supply shortage in Metro Manila.

He explained the project, which will supplement the water coming from Umiray River going to the Angat Reservoir, is expected to provide Angat Dam 1.8 million liters per day (MLD).

“The project could be completed by next year, but it was put on hold due to an accident that killed six people,” he lamented.

At the same hearing, PAGASA climatologist Junie Ruiz said there is a possibility that the water level in Angat Dam will not reach the 190-meter level by yearend.

Ruiz explained to lawmakers that Tropical Storm Quiel would have no significant impact on the water level in the dam in Bulacan that supplies 96 percent of Metro Manila’s water demand.

He said another tropical cyclone may develop next week but there’s no assurance that this would bring rains near Angat. 

For his part, Maynilad chief operating officer Randolph Estrellado said they would study the option of cloud seeding.

Estrellado, however, assured their customers that water interruptions would not exceed 24 hours.

Maynilad and Manila Water have both vowed to take necessary steps to mitigate the effects of low water supply.

Still, Lopez warned the concessionaires of possibly losing their contracts and an average of P6 billion in annual earnings if they fail to step up efforts in providing adequate water supply to Metro Manila and adjoining localities.?“Unfortunately, they have not lived up to their commitment since they took over the water supply service in 1997. There is nothing wrong in engaging in business. What is wrong is if the one engaged in business is getting greedy,” he told the two water firms.

While admitting there is no reason yet to declare a state of emergency to address an impending water supply, Lopez warned the MWSS and its two concessionaires of the possibility of granting legislative franchises to private water agencies.?“There must be an assessment of the water provider’s true capability,” he added.

As of yesterday morning, Angat Dam’s water level was at 188.34 meters, or 21.66 meters below its 210-meter normal high water level. 

New water

sources needed

The Philippines needs to look for new water sources to address the water crisis in the long-term, tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan said yesterday.

Pangilinan, chairman of west zone water concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc., pointed out that the growing population has triggered the need for additional sources of water supply.

“We really need new dams,” Pangilinan stressed at a press conference at the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), the infrastructure conglomerate that is the parent company of Maynilad.

Pangilinan said that since MPIC first invested in Maynilad in 2006, the population coverage has grown by nearly one-third to 9.6 million while Maynilad has laid 3,126 kilometers of new pipes.

Non-revenue water (NRW) has been reduced to 27.1 percent as of end-September 2019 from 68 percent 13 years ago, saving almost one billion liters of water every day. He said this is enough water to provide the needs of a large city.

Pangilinan said Maynilad continues to invest heavily to reduce NRW.

Sounding the alarm on the water supply shortage in the country, Pangilinan said water levels in Angat have declined to disturbing lows.

“A combination of rising service level to an increased population, the El Niño drought this year and the failure of previous administrations to develop new water sources (or allow us to develop water sources ourselves) has led to a shortfall in water supply,” he said.

As of end-September, water level at Angat Dam is significantly below the ideal level to ensure that supply is adequate during the summer months of 2020.

To address the shortage, the company continues to build and expand drinking water facilities in its plant in Putatan in Muntinlupa, Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez added.

Measures include the opening Putatan Water Treatment 2 in April this year, adding 100 MLD of water supply capacity immediately and a further 50 MLD by yearend.

Maynilad has already submitted a proposal for a third plant to be constructed in another part of Laguna de Bay.

The company is also continuing with its NRW reduction measures.

Maynilad’s average NRW measured at the district metered area level fell to 26.8 percent in the first nine months of 2019 from 30.5 percent for the same period in 2018 while average total NRW is now down to 39.1 percent. Both new numbers are record lows, Maynilad said.

The company is also working to tap small dams in Cavite by April 2020.

In all, these measures would translate to an additional 233 MLD to augment the current deficit of 230 MLD.

At present, Maynilad’s mitigating measures are already creating additional supply of 100 MLD. – With Iris Gonzales