Maynilad: Brace for 2-week water supply interruption

MANILA, Philippines — Customers of west zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. in southern Metro Manila will have to endure a two-week supply interruption amid the quality of water in Laguna Lake.

In an advisory issued yesterday, the water firm said portions of Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa and Cavite would have low pressure to no water supply until May 14.

This is equivalent to around 170,000 water service connections.

“We have supply constraints because of the proliferation of algae in Laguna Lake. Increased algae in raw water requires additional cleaning of our treatment plant filters, and this affects our level of production,” Maynilad spokesperson Jennifer Rufo said.

The algae proliferation was observed in the lake on April 23 due to the warmer temperature brought by El Niño.

“We are constrained to implement rotating supply interruptions in the areas served by our Putatan facilities so we can maximize the limited supply and ensure that affected customers will have water, even with a limited supply availability window,” Rufo said.

An update on the algal bloom showed that the situation would continue until the end of summer.

Among Maynilad’s remedial measures are the dosing of additional chemicals to stop further proliferation of algae and introduction of more coagulants to allow better removal of particulates from the raw water.

“We are also managing the flow control mechanisms of our facilities to reduce the algae without affecting inflow of water to the plant,” Rufo said.

“We are trying to mitigate the impact of the reduced production on  our customers by implementing rotational supply scheme and deployment of mobile water tankers,” she added.

Among the areas affected in Muntinlupa are Alabang, Cupang, Sucat, Ayala Alabang, Bayanan, Poblacion, Putatan and Tunasan.

In Las Piñas, affected areas are Barangays Almanza Uno, Almanza Dos, Pamplona Uno, Pamplona Dos, Pamplona Tres, Pilar, Pulanglupa Dos, Talon Uno, Talon Dos, Talon Tres, Talon Kuatro, Talon Singko and BF International.

Barangay BF Homes and San Antonio in Parañaque are also included.

In Imus, Cavite, interruptions will be expected in Barangays Anabu I-A to I-F, Bayan Luma I to IX, Bucandala I to V, Carsadang Bago I to II, Malagasang I-A to I-D, Malagasang I-G, Malagasang II-C to II-G, Poblacion I-A to I-C, Poblacion II-A, Poblacion III-A to III-B, Poblacion IV-A to IV-D, Tanzang Luma I to VI, Tociong I-A to I-C and Pasong Buaya II.

For Bacoor, Barangays Moslino II to VII, Queens Row Central, Queens Row East, Queens Row West, and San Nicolas III are affected.