Operation: Repair and disconnect

Maynilad Water Services Inc. intensified yesterday the repair of leaks and disconnection of illegal connections in the areas of Tondo affected by a disease outbreak as it joined forces with the Manila government and the department of Health to arrest the crisis.

Maynilad president Rafael Alunan III, supervised the work on Innocencio street.

"We found at least 235 leaks in the area. Our people are now working on them. We are also disconnecting many illegal connections," he noted.

Some 20 teams repaired busted water pipes in the Foreshore Area, where majority of the more than 200 cholera and gastro-enteritis cases were recorded.

Maynilad, at the same time, vowed to go after those responsible for illegal water connections in violation of the Water Crisis Act.

Maynilad is now closely coordinating with the local government, the police and barangay officials for the arrest of those responsible since the water concessionaire lacks the police power to do so.

During repair operations. Maynilad hopes to find out where the illegal connections leads, and eventually identify those responsible for more than 200 Tondo residents who were rushed to seven hospitals in Manila over the past week due to severe diarrhea and vomiting.

Last Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) had announced that some of the patients were infected with cholera based on the stool samples taken from 28 of the 115 victims brought to the San Lazaro Hospital.

The hospital had cultured the specimens which tested positive for "vibrio cholerae," the bacteria that causes cholera.

However, Manila City Health Department sanitation inspector Clemente San Gabriel Jr. said yesterday the cholera findings were not yet conclusive.

"We are still confirming that in the laboratory. What we know is that the patients manifested symptoms similar to cholera," he added.

The residents had blamed the "foul-smelling and dirty" water supply of Maynilad for the outbreak.

But Alunan said that water contamination could have been caused by various factors like illegal connections,

He cited the three illegally installed rubber water pipes that were discovered in Velasquez by Maynilad workers. The substandard pipes were passing through a drainage canal.

"If these connections have leaks, the dirty water from the drainage will seep in and will go to the households," he added.

Maynilad found it strange that only residents at the Foreshore were affected despite the water-tapping practice in all areas of the West Zone concession. Maynilad had launched a comprehensive study to be done by an independent panel from the University of the Philippines to establish what caused the illnesses.

The DOH has also been ordered by President Arroyo to investigate the incident.

But Alunan said the other factors that need to be looked into by the panel are sanitation and the personal hygiene of residents.

"What is it that brought them to the hospitals? We want to find this out and in doing this, we also have to check their sanitation practices," he added.

According to Rafael Aguado, Maynilad vice president for operations, it would not be practical to replace the decades-old pipes they inherited from the National Housing Authority when they took over the water management.

Aguado said that Maynilad will have to spend at least P50 million for this.

And responding to the complaints of residents that water supply in Tondo is often low at night, Maynilad asked them to stock up water when pressure is high.

"We have a water optimization plan. We are scheduling water supply according to needs, but it has not reached zero (supply). We advise the public to stock up water only in clean containers," he added.

The hospital had cultured the specimens which tested positive for "vibrio cholerae," the bacteria that causes cholera.

However, Manila City Health Department sanitation inspector Clemente San Gabriel Jr. said yesterday the cholera findings were not yet conclusive.

"We are still confirming that in the laboratory. What we know is that the patients manifested symptoms similar to cholera," he added.

The residents had blamed the "foul-smelling and dirty" water supply of Maynilad for the outbreak.

But Alunan said that water contamination could have been caused by various factors like illegal connections,

He cited the three illegally installed rubber water pipes that were discovered in Velasquez by Maynilad workers. The substandard pipes were passing through a drainage canal.

"If these connections have leaks, the dirty water from the drainage will seep in and will go to the households," he added.

Maynilad found it strange that only residents at the Foreshore were affected despite the water-tapping practice in all areas of the West Zone concession. Maynilad had launched a comprehensive study to be done by an independent panel from the University of the Philippines to establish what caused the illnesses.

The DOH has also been ordered by President Arroyo to investigate the incident.

But Alunan said the other factors that need to be looked into by the panel are sanitation and the personal hygiene of residents.

"What is it that brought them to the hospitals? We want to find this out and in doing this, we also have to check their sanitation practices," he added.

According to Rafael Aguado, Maynilad vice president for operations, it would not be practical to replace the decades-old pipes they inherited from the National Housing Authority when they took over the water management.

Aguado said that Maynilad will have to spend at least P50 million for this.

And responding to the complaints of residents that water supply in Tondo is often low at night, Maynilad asked them to stock up water when pressure is high.