Mactan Rock rents out machines to water districts

CEBU, Philippines - To provide alternative solution to the looming water shortage, Mactan Rock Industries Inc. (MRII) has launched a “for lease” option on its water filters and clarifier machines.

Desalination, online filters, and river water clarifier machines are offered for rent to water districts and commercial institutions as back-up equipment if ever water supply will be affected by the forecasted El Niño phenomenon to happen anytime this year, announced MRII chairman Antonio Tompar.

MRII, a Cebu-based water solutions provider, initially invested P50 million to acquire 10 units of desalination machines from the United States,  50 percent of which are already consigned to two water districts and sugar mill companies.

MRII’s for lease option, the first of its kind concept introduced in the Philippines, was officially launched during the recently concluded Philippine Association of Water District (PAWD) national convention held in  Angeles City.

The concept, which has been practiced in the United States for some time now,  is one of the few ways to help industries and water districts in the Philippines to sustain water supply flow regardless of disturbances, Tompar said.

The lease option is good for six months to five years. The leasees may also buy the machine if they want to.

Desalination machines are best for companies or  industries located in areas where there is abundant supply of salt or brackish water.

Online filters are for companies  and water districts with abandoned wells, and areas whose water has high natural water impurities like iron or manganese.

According to Tompar, online filter machines, a technology from New Zealand,  are excellent water eon exchangers that will convert non-potable water to potable. While the locally-developed river water clarifier machine allows users to operate their own surface water equipment utilizing river water.

According to a new United Nations advisory, the ongoing El Niño phenomenon in the Asia-Pacific region is likely to be one of the strongest since 1998 and will continue early part of 2016, with the impact expected to be more severe in certain locations including the Philippines.

The Third Advisory Note on El Niño issued jointly earlier by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) stated that “the impact of the 2015-2016 El Niño could be even more severe in certain locations, such as the uplands of Cambodia, central and southern India, eastern Indonesia, the central and southern Philippines, central and northeast Thailand.”

The new UN advisory said the powerful El Niño is intensifying in the Asia-Pacific and urges regional cooperation for early warning, in-season mitigation and long-term adaptation strategies to curb climate risk. — (FREEMAN)