MWSS to Metro residents: Water will last till June, if you conserve

MANILA, Philippines - The state-run Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) assured Metro Manila residents there will be enough water until June, provided that consumers conserve water.

“The government is doing several initiatives to prevent a water crisis but the public must also do their part by conserving water,” MWSS administrator Diosdado Allado told the weekly Kapihan sa Manila Hotel media forum.

Starting January this year, the National Water Resource Board (NWRB) reduced water allocation to the MWSS to 42 cubic meters per second (CMS) or 42, 000 liters from last year’s 46 CMS or 46, 000 liters per second. In February, the board allowed MWSS to get 40 CMS.

For March, it was reduced to 38 CMS, which would be lowered to 37 CMS in April and 35 CMS in May.

The NWRB reduced the supply of water to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) starting January to 34 CMS from 43 CMS until February, and it was further cut down to 22 CMS this month, and only 10 CMS would be allocated to farmers in April.

In May and June, it would no longer release any water to NIA.   – Helen Flores