Maynilad promises to fully resume water production in West Zone by June 15
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:35 p.m.) — After the government received a surge of complaints on water supply and quality issues from the West Zone, concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. vowed to resume full water production not later than June 15.
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Regulatory Office (MWSS RO) made the statement on Friday, two days after it ordered Maynilad to explain why many customers were complaining about the "prolonged and recurring" water supply and quality issues in the West Zone, specifically in Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Parañaque, and portions of Cavite.
The regulator said it was alarmed at the complaints even if Maynilad has an allocation of over 2,400 million liters per day at its Novaliches portal and is working to solve the problems in its Putatan Water treatment plant.
MWSS reported that it held a meeting with Maynilad on Thursday, where the company explained that it had to stop the supply of water in the southern part of the West Zone because of a large amount of algal blooms in Laguna Lake which reduced water production, and delays in the delivery of algae mitigating equipment.
"As the MWSS RO directed to fast track the resolution of these persisting issues, the Concessionaire committed to significantly improve water production by 11 June (Saturday) and to resume full production not later than 15 June (Wednesday)," the regulator said, referring to the West Zone.
MWSS RO told Maynilad that it will not hold back in imposing the appropriate sanctions, penalties and fines on the company for any violation of its obligations or for any failure in providing water, sewerage and sanitation services to its customers.
"Meanwhile, the MWSS RO assures affected customers that their welfare and interests are prioritized while investigations are ongoing in light of these issues," it added.
Under its concession agreement, Maynilad is required to provide an uninterrupted 24-hour supply of water to all customers in its service area, and make sure that the quality water is in line with National Drinking Water Standards.
Access to potable water is crucial especially during a pandemic.
Sought for comment, Maynilad said it is "doing everything it can" to revert to normal operations.
"Meantime, we continue to deliver potable water via mobile tankers, and establish a daily supply availability schedule so that affected customers can store water for their needs," it said in a statement on Viber.
"This situation is temporary, as the onset of the rainy season is expected to dissipate the effect of the algal bloom on the lake's raw water quality," it added.
- Latest
- Trending
