It's All About Efficiency: Manila Water customers enjoy uninterrupted water service

MANILA, Philippines - Despite El Niño, Manila Water Co. Inc. said it has continued to provide its customers with uninterrupted water service even as the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has further reduced water allocation for domestic consumption in the wake of lowering water levels from the Angat Dam.

Water elevation at the Angat Dam in Bulacan dropped below the critical 180-meter level last week. Angat Dam is the primary source of water supply in Metro Manila.

“Although the NWRB has further cut back allocation to MWSS to 36 cubic meters per second (cms) starting April, we still manage to supply the water requirements of our 6.1 million customers in our concession area. Our water service to our customers remains at 24 hours a day. This, to a large extent, is made possible as we are able to manage our network efficiently,” said Manila Water president Jose Rene Almendras. “Our supply distribution system is now a real-time, automated process.”

As raw water allocation dropped by 10 cms from the normal 46 cms, Manila Water has effectively managed its supply.   “It is all about efficiency,” says Almendras. “This is the reason we continue to aggressively pursue programs to reduce non-revenue water (NRW) even as the system’s loss level is already comparable to international standards.”

The company’s current system loss is already at 13.37 percent, down by more than two percentage points from the end-2009 level of 15.8 percent. Each percentage point reduction means an additional 13 million liters per day (mld) or 390,000 liters based on a 1300 mld production.

This allows the company to redistribute the water recovered from these programs to areas which need the water most, particularly the low-income communities at the farthest and most elevated fringe areas of the East Zone.

“With Pagasa forecasting still below-average rainfall as the summer months peak, we expect the largest deficit to be in May and June. However, Manila Water has prepared its contingency/mitigation plan to ensure that our customers will hardly feel the effect of El Ninno in terms of water supply,” Joemar Emboltorio, Manila Water’s water supply department manager, said.

Part of the company’s mitigation plan is to utilize 49 deepwells, 29 static tanks, 26 water tankers and four mobile treatment plants in a “worst-case scenario.” The mountain city of Antipolo, has 12 standby deepwells, the most among the 23 cities and municipalities covered by Manila Water. Pressure management for certain areas is also an option in case the El Niño goes to the extreme.