Manila Water consistently intensifies its campaign towards proper wastewater management in Metro Manila’s East Zone through its Used Water Master Plan. The target for the company in terms of used water services is full sewer and sanitation coverage of its entire concession area by 2037. As of July 31, 2018, Manila Water has installed an aggregate of 135,251 sewer connections within the East Zone since the start of its concession period, serving a total of 186,480 households. For the whole of 2017, 1,783 new sewer connections were installed, benefitting 3,382 households, while 630 kilometers of sewer pipes were cleaned within the same period.

The company likewise commissioned in 2017 its largest sewage treatment plants to date: Taguig North and Marikina North Sewage Treatment Plants. The Taguig North STP has a capacity to treat up to 75 million liters per day (MLD) of used water from communities in Taguig and the Makati CBD. It was constructed underneath the Liwasan ng Kagitingan at Kalikasan, a public nature park that showcases milestones in Philippine History with seven mural installations created by artist Jose Giroy. The Marikina North STP, on the other hand, has the capacity of cleaning up to 100 MLD of used water and was constructed to specifically withstand flooding as it sits right at the banks of Marikina River. Both STPs employ Sequence Batch Reactor (SBR) biological treatment process, an innovation which enables facilities built on limited land areas to more effectively treat larger volumes of used water.

Manila Water currently operates and maintains 38 sewage treatment plants (STP) and 2 septage treatment plants (SpTP), to ensure that used water collected from its customers is treated and cleaned before being discharged back into Metro Manila’s waterways. The discharge from these treatment plants has consistently passed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) effluent quality standards, averaging 99.8% compliance over that past five years as against the required 95% compliance set by the Department. More treatment plants are being constructed and more sewer networks are being laid to further increase sewer coverage within its concession. Currently being constructed is the Ilugin Sewage Treatment Plant in Barangay Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City, which is the centerpiece of the North and South Pasig Sewer System Project. All three STPs have a combined capacity of treating up to 275 million liters per day (MLD) of used water, which is targeted to benefit a total of 1.6 million population.

The company also continuously promotes its desludging services to its customers, offering scheduled cleaning of septic tanks with no additional charges. From January to December 2017, Manila Water was able to empty 104,170 septic tanks, benefitting 176,010 households in the entire East Zone. From January to July 2018, a total of 60,858 septic tanks have been cleaned and emptied, benefitting 114,432 households.

With the ultimate goal of helping rehabilitate Metro Manila’s major three-river system (Marikina, San Juan, and Pasig Rivers), Manila Water acknowledges that it has a gargantuan task ahead with its Used Water Master Plan, necessitating the help and cooperation of all concerned sectors. Thus, it launched the country’s first advocacy designed to promote proper used water management. “Toka Toka”, launched in 2012, encourages each individual to accomplish four simple tasks, or “toka”, to help revive the city’s waterways, to wit:

1. Proper solid waste management and segregation;
2. Active desludging of household septic tank every five years;
3. Connecting to existing sewer lines; and
4. Educating the community on proper wastewater management and the environment.

Currently, every city in Metro Manila’s East Zone, plus several municipalities in Rizal, has partnered with Manila Water through Toka Toka, with various programs being enforced down to the barangay level.