Manila Water opening two more treatment plants

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the declining levels of Angat Dam, Manila Water Co. Inc. is banking on the opening of two treatment plants this year to augment its water supply.

Manila Water chief operating officer Arnold Mortera said the company would have additional water sources by the end of the year to lessen its reliance on Angat Dam ahead of the approaching El Niño.

He told reporters yesterday that the company might see “a little bit of reduction of allocation from Angat… but we have supplementary sources and activation of two water treatment plants in the last quarter this year.”

The water concessionaire is set to complete phase two of its East Bay treatment plant by September, bringing an additional 200 million liters per day (MLD).

The treatment plant extracts water from Laguna de Bay and is expected to service about two million residents in Pasig, Pateros and Taguig, as it sources water from the Upper Wawa Dam.

The Kaysakat treatment plant, set for opening by October, will bring an additional 220 MLD of water to residents in Antipolo and other neighboring areas in Rizal province.

The supplemental water supply will contribute to about 40 percent of demand from the east zone.

Mortera assured Manila Water customers that there will be no interruptions of water supply for its concession area, despite the threat of lower-than-average rainfall due to El Niño.

“The worst could be just lower pressure in some areas. It’s just weaker, but intentionally that should be off-peak hours, from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.,” he said.

The water in Angat Dam, Metro Manila’s major water source, has fallen below critical level, prompting a reduction of water allocation to 48 cubic meters per second from 52 CMS by the National Water Resources Board.

Manila Water services Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig, Marikina, Pateros and parts of Quezon City as well as towns in the province of Rizal.