Manila Water reduces water loss to improve supply

MANILA, Philippines - Unknown to many, Manila Water used to lose more of the water it produced than bringing it to its customers. A large volume of water that was supposed to be delivered to the then-3.1 million customers in Metro Manila’s East Zone was often dissipated due to leaks and illegal connections that, in effect, made water supply deficient.

Such a situation made the reduction of these system losses, or non-revenue water (NRW) in water industry parlance, an enormous challenge for the company as it took over the service coverage of 23 cities and municipalities of Metro Manila and Rizal Province in 1997.

Thirteen years after, the situation has been reversed. This is after Manila Water found concrete solutions to reducing losses by using a multi-pronged approach that combined technical and engineering support alongside strengthening strong community partnerships at all levels to achieve the unprecedented level of water supply efficiency.

Through this new approach that it painstakingly and consistently harnessed over the last 13 years, Manila Water has achieved the biggest NRW reduction in Philippine history. It has brought down what used to be a daunting NRW level of 63 percent in 1997 to an all-time low of 11 percent by the end of September 2010, thus ensuring uninterrupted water supply to its customers in its concession area and maximizing water supply derived from the main water supply source at the Angat Dam. This has allowed the company to supply clean, potable water to 100 percent of our customers 24/7, with a 99 percent high level of water reliability, despite the critical level of Angat Dam during the recent El Niño.

Through Manila Water’s sustained and comprehensive system loss reduction program, the high water efficiency has also enabled the company to provide service to more communities even in far-flung areas like in Taguig, San Mateo, Cainta, Angono, Baras, Rodriguez and Taytay.

The round-the-clock coverage is complemented by a 100 percent batting average in terms of water quality, thus making Manila Water’s key performance indicator for water quality excellent.