NWRB justifies water allocation for Maynilad, Manila Water

MANILA, Philippines — The National Water Resources Board (NMWRB) has defended its decision to approve 50 cubic meters per second allocation for Maynilad Water Service Inc. and Manila Water Co. instead of the 52 cubic meters per second requested by the two water concessionaires amid warnings of prolonged water interruption.

In a radio interview, NWRB executive director Sevillo David Jr. said the NWRB board needs to assess the situation amid the threat of the El Niño phenomenon, which is expected to hit the country during the second half of the year.

“Their request was 52 cubic meters per second from the original approved water allocation of 48 cubic meters per second. The Board deliberated it and decided to place it at 50 cubic meters per second,” David said.

David noted that the approved allocation will be effective until April 15, 2023 to allow the La Mesa Dam and Ipo Dam to recover at a more comfortable level and address some of the water supply issues of Metro Manila.

Maynilad has warned of extended hours of daily water interruption after the NWRB’s failure to grant the original request coursed through the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.

Based on latest monitoring of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, as of 6 a.m. on Monday, the level of Angat Dam further dropped to 201.27 meters, 0.33 meters less than its previous level of 201.60 meters.

Manila Water vows 24/7 supply

East zone concessionaire Manila Water Co. has assured its 7.4 million customers of round-the-clock supply during the observation of Holy Week and the entire dry season with contingency and augmentation projects in place.

As an alternative source to Angat Dam, the company’s Cardona Treatment Plant in Rizal, which draws water from Laguna Lake, is currently maximizing its operations to accommodate treatment of up to 110 million liters per day (MLD) supplying clean and potable water to several towns in Rizal.

The company also tapped other auxiliary sources such as the Marikina River through the 15 to 20-MLD Marikina Water Portable Treatment Plant and the 20-MLD Wawa-Calawis Water Supply System in Antipolo.

At Laguna Lake, the East Bay Water Supply System Project Phase 1 is expected to contribute 50 MLD for the municipalities of Baras, Binangonan, Cardona, Jalajala and Morong in Rizal.

Last January, Manila Water inaugurated the Novaliches-Balara Aqueduct 4 in Quezon City, which will convey 1,000 MLD from the La Mesa reservoir.

The company is also implementing a backwash recovery program in the two water treatment plants in Balara, Quezon City.

The company is also ready to tap deep wells to provide additional sources when needed.

As it prepares for the dry months and El Niño, Manila Water said it ramped up maintenance of mainlines and rehabilitation of aging primary lines to minimize water lost to leakages. – Danessa Rivera