MWSS to comply with Duterte order
Published on: Monday, March 18, 2019
MANILA: The head of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) is reading between the lines of President Duterte’s order to release 150 days worth of water from Angat Dam, noting that the President may have been misinformed on the water crisis.
In a radio interview, MWSS Administrator Reynaldo Velasco said while the President may have been ill-advised on the issue, he understands the message being conveyed.
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“What is important is to solve the problem,” Velasco said in English and Filipino.
Velasco said he has informed Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea about the misinformation sent to the President.
“I will comply with the wish of the President not based on the terms that he used, but I can see what he wants. He doesn’t want people to line up in the streets waiting for water,” Velasco said.
Velasco added that he hoped to come up with an action plan by Monday.
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“We will comply with the marching orders of (President Duterte) to solve the water shortage in 150 days and the MWSS together with its concessionaires – Manila Water, Maynilad and Bulacan Bulk Water – will do its best to meet his expectations,” the MWSS said in a statement.
In line with the President’s order, the MWSS said it has added two centimetres (cm) to the 46 cm released daily from the Angat-Ipo-La Mesa water systems, which can only accommodate 4,000 million liters daily (MLD), with the approval of the Natural Water Resources Board (NWRB).
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“The present problem could have been averted had Manila Water’s 100 MLD Cardona Treatment Plant been operational since October,” the MWSS said.
In the previous months, Manila Water had been sourcing its deficit water from La Mesa Dam but due to the lack of rains caused by El Niño, La Mesa was depleted.
The MWSS board of trustees said it held a special meeting last Thursday, where short-term and long-term measures to solve the water shortage in the East Zone were discussed.
Among the possible solutions discussed were the activation of 101 deep wells, which can supply 101 MLD to consumers, and the sharing of Maynilad of 50 MLD through cross-border sharing, including the deployment of water trucks to affected areas that will service or benefit 50,000 households in Quezon City, Parañaque and Taguig.
The MWSS said the NWRB has approved the request to reactivate the deep wells and Manila Water has started energising and activating the said wells.
East Zone concessionaire Manila Water noted that its 20-hour water interruptions would not last throughout the summer as it is starting to see the effects of the rotational water supply scheme it implemented since Thursday.
“Levels of various reservoirs have started to increase and water supply, though still at low pressure in some areas, is slowly being distributed to severely affected barangays,” the company said in a statement Friday.
Manila Water said pressure is expected to improve in the coming days as the reservoirs are refilled to enable water to reach highly elevated areas.
“These operational adjustments are a temporary measure that Manila Water is undertaking to balance water supply distribution in its concession area,” the company said.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) expressed optimism that the situation in Metro Manila will improve in the coming weeks.
DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said the DENR has coordinated with the NWRB, Maynilad and Manila Water with regard to its water treatment plant in Cardona, Rizal to help areas in Metro Manila experiencing water shortage.
Antiporda said Manila Water will provide a total additional water supply of 180 MLD by April.
“Within next week or two, service will improve,” Antiporda said in English and Filipino, noting that (Manila Water’s) Cardona water treatment facility is expected to yield 22 MLD by the end of March before reaching a capacity yield of 50 MLD by April.
He said the three agencies met at the MWSS office in Quezon City Thursday. where Maynilad committed to allocate 20 MLD to Manila Water by the end of March and increasing it to 50 MLD by April.
On the part of the NWRB, Antiporda said the agency projects an additional allocation of 30 MLD by April with the reactivation of deep wells.
The MWSS will be responsible for operating the deep wells, Antiporda added.
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