MANILA, Philippines — Customers of both Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co. Inc. should brace for rotational service interruptions starting tomorrow due to the decreasing level of Angat Dam, the main source of water of Metro Manila.
In an advisory, Maynilad said it would re-implement daily rotational water service interruptions in some portions of the west zone starting tomorrow night.
“These rotational service interruptions may take full effect in the next few days, depending on actual rainfall that will occur in the watersheds,” Maynilad said.
Affected areas are Navotas, Muntinlupa, Manila, Malabon, Makati, Las Piñas, Caloocan, Parañaque, Pasay, Quezon City and Valenzuela.
It will also impact the cities of Bacoor, Kawit, Imus, Noveleta and Rosario in Cavite and Meycauayan in Bulacan.
The re-implementation of rotational water service interruption is part of the supply management efforts in preparation for next summer in case Angat Dam does not reach 212 meters.
As of yesterday morning, Angat Dam is at 186.46 meters, slightly below 186.77 meters the other day. Angat’s normal level is at 180 meters.
There has been scant rainfall at Angat and Ipo watersheds over the past days, resulting in the continuous decline of raw water levels in both Angat and Ipo dams.
Since raw water allocation from Angat Dam for Metro Manila and adjacent provinces is still at the reduced level of 40 cubic meters per second versus the normal allocation of 48 CMS, the volume of raw water entering its treatment facilities is short by around 250 million liters per day.
Maynilad is also implementing mitigating measures to minimize the impact of the limited supply to its customers. These include construction of water treatment and storage facilities, supply and pressure management, activation of deep wells and installation of mobile treatment plants.
“If enough volume of raw water enters our treatment facilities, we can shorten or even postpone the scheduled service interruption. However, if the volume of raw water is not enough, then the service interruptions will happen as scheduled,” Maynilad said.
On the other hand, Manila Water will also begin implementing rotational water service interruption starting tomorrow.
Affected areas are Makati, Mandaluyong, Manila, Marikina, San Juan, Taguig, Quezon City, Pateros, Parañaque and Pasig.
It will also impact Antipolo, Angono, Rodriguez, Cainta, Binangonan, Antipolo, San Mateo, Taytay, Teresa, Baras and Jalajala in Rizal.
“This may be necessary because we want to ensure that the still-limited raw water supply will last through summer and the rest of next year despite Angat Dam being unable to reach its ideal 212-meter level by the end of 2019,” Manila Water said.
“We call and enjoin our customers to use water wisely and responsibly. Please store water when available, and just at enough amount to serve your needs during the hours of service interruption,” it added.