Maynilad projects underway to boost water supply amid El Niño

MANILA, Philippines — Maynilad Water Services Inc. said that various projects are underway to boost the water supply for its customers, particularly those in Las Piñas and Parañaque City, and minimize the impact of the El Niño phenomenon.

According to the water concessionaire, among the supply augmentation projects is the reactivation of eight deep wells.

As of March 2023, the eight deep wells were generating at least 5.6 milliliters per day. Maynilad said it targets to source 32 mld from 66 deep wells by the end of the year.

Aside from the deep wells, Maynilad said it is also building at least four modular treatment plants in Cavite: two each in Imus and Bacoor.

“The two modular treatment plants in Imus will be operational within 2023 while the two modular treatment plants in Bacoor will be operational by the fourth quarter of 2024,” Maynilad said.

Maynilad said that the Anabu modular treatment plant will generate 5.5 mld by May 2023 and 18 mld by September 2023; Julian modular treatment plant, four mld by October 2023; Molino modular treatment plant, five mld by third quarter of 2023; and Ligas modular treatment plant, 18 mld by fourth quarter of 2024.

It said that a new water treatment plant will be built in Parañaque City that can generate at least five mld.

According to Maynilad, efforts are also being made to recover water from leak repairs and replacement of old pipes.

“At least 64 mld were generated from January to April 2023. The target recovery by yearend is 100 mld, 79 mld from the north, like the Angat-Ipo water system and 21 mld from the south,” Maynilad said.

Maynilad said that it is also tapping the cross border supply through the purchase of treated water from Manila Water by tapping points in the distribution system.

“To date, at least 24.65 mld were generated from five tapping points as there are plans to increase volume purchased with cooperation of Manila Water,” Maynilad said.

At the same time, Maynilad said that it is now developing the Poblacion Water Treatment Plant, the third treatment plant sourcing raw materials from Laguna Lake.

Maynilad said it targets to generate at least 50 mld from the Poblacion Water Treatment Plant and full 150 mld by first quarter of 2024.

In an earlier interview with The STAR, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Administrator Leonor Cleofas said that the agency does not see a possible water shortage after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) raised the El Niño alert amid the threat of the dry spell.

According to the weather bureau, El Niño will start in June, July and August and may persist until the first quarter of 2024.

Cleofas added that Metro Manila customers, particularly those being serviced by Maynilad, will not experience another rotating water interruption.

“If ever, the worst-case scenario is there will be a decrease in the water pressure,” Cleofas said.

Cleofas added that while the National Water Resources Board only approved the 52 cubic meters per second (cms) allocation until May, the MWSS regularly conducts assessments on the water level of Angat Dam.

“Even though the approval of 52 cms is up to May, we regularly meet every two weeks to assess the current situation. So, ahead of time we will be able to really assess the current situation at Angat Dam,” Cleofas added.

Maynilad customers in Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon; the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario in Cavite had experienced at least eight to 14 hours of daily water cut off in the latter part of March and first two weeks of April.

“As of now, we don’t see a possible water shortage, but we still need to be concerned about water conservation as based on the projection of PAGASA, the impact of El Niño will be on the later part of this year and next year. We will have an opportunity to refill our dams,” Cleofas said.

As of 6 a.m. on Sunday, the water level of Angat Dam dropped to 194.04 meters or 0.16 meters less compared to its previous level of 194.20 meters.

Angat Dam supplies more than 90 percent of Metro Manila’s potable water needs and provides for the irrigation needs of 25,000 hectares of farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga.

Fishers’ group worry over El Niño

A leader of fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Sunday expressed apprehension at the impending impact of the El Niño phenomenon on the country’s fisherfolk.

In a radio interview, Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said the livelihood of fisherfolk was already affected by the reclamation and dredging at Manila Bay.

“This early, we are already worried about the effect of El Niño on the survival of fishermen amid the high cost of living, and the limited areas where small fishers can fish because of various municipal ordinances,” Hicap said.

He added that fishers already lost 80 percent of their source of income amid the ongoing reclamation projects at Manila Bay.

“El Niño will exacerbate the situation of the fisherfolk. It will result in hunger for many fishers,” Hicap said.

“We’ve been pushing for a P15,000 subsidy so that we can afford to go to the deeper part of the oceans where the fish are located,” he added.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources chief information officer Nazario Briguera has warned of increased incidents of red tide and fish kill amid the impending occurrence of El Niño.

“Red tide is a natural phenomenon. What we can only do is close monitoring of fishing areas to ensure that these are negative of the red tide, and if there is an outbreak of red tide, we can immediately issue a warning to the public,” Briguera said.

He added that only shellfish and Acetes sp. or alamang are affected by toxic red tide.

“Other marine resources are safe for human consumption,” Briguera added.

At the same time, he said that fish kill occurs due to the drop in the level of water in the fishponds.

“This happens when the water level in the fishponds drops, causing the dissolved oxygen level to also decrease,” Briguera added.

He gave assurance that mitigating measures are in place to prevent the incidents of fish kill.