Manila Water: All fire hydrants operational

MANILA, Philippines - Water concessionaire Manila Water Co. (MWC) assured the public yesterday that all fire hydrants in its concession area are operable and with adequate water supply amid reports that more than 100 fire hydrants in Quezon City are non-operational.

“We want to assure you, our customers and the public in general, that while Manila Water strives to maintain and continue its 24/7 water service to 6.3 million residents in the East Zone, we more importantly, put premium on safety and security of customers,” MWC corporate communication head Jeric Sevilla said in a letter to The STAR.

“Ensuring that all are fire hydrants are working is one of them,” he added.

MWC issued the statement after The STAR reported on the proposed resolution of District 6 Councilor Melencio Castelo, who requested MWC and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to repair non-operational hydrants in the city.

Castelo claimed that 142 of the 658 fire hydrants in the city are not working and have to be repaired.

Sevilla, however, said that only 14 of the 142 hydrants in the supposed list of non-operational hydrants are within their concession area.

He added that ten of these 14 hydrants have already been relocated to areas where they are most necessary, while the remaining four have been re-inspected and were found to be operational.

The MWC also said that they have 3,099 hydrants in Metro Manila, and 854 of these are in Quezon City.

“Each one working and can be used any time should there be a fire,” he said.

The number is significantly higher than the total number of hydrants – 658 for both MWC and MWSS – that were cited in Castelo’s proposed resolution.

Sought for comment, engineer Ronnie Badidles – Castelo’s chief of staff – said yesterday that their data on the non-operational fire hydrants in the city came from the Bureau of Fire Protection.

He said they would invite representatives from MWC and the MWSS to the committee hearing of the proposed measure to clarify the matter and get an updated list of fire hydrants in the city.