Sustainable solutions, innovative facilities, and augmentation plans in place

When the heat is on, water is on high demand.

Following the official declaration of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on the warmer and drier season ahead, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. recently admitted that the Philippines is experiencing water crisis.

Rising to the challenge, Manila Water—Metro Manila’s East Zone concessionaire—is assuring its customers that it will continue to provide uninterrupted, 24/7 water services, as part of its commitment to deliver world-class services tailored to the needs of the communities it serves. This is through sustainable solutions, innovative facilities, and augmentation plans.

“All these form part of our initiatives toward water security. From day one, it has become our mission to ensure that our customers continue to receive 24/7 water services, especially during the summer season where demand normally spikes by 15% due to higher temperatures,” said Manila Water president and CEO Jocot de Dios.

Another challenge, PAGASA also announced the end of La Niña with 80% probability of El Niño expected later this year. “We are prepared for this and ready to fulfill our obligations. We continue to put our plans into motion to support MWSS’ call for continuous supply in our concession area as we face challenging weather forecasts in the coming months,” De Dios added.

Manila Water has put in place its water supply contingency and augmentation plans while working and coordinating closely with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) to help ensure that customers will experience continuous water supply even during peak demand periods.

These contingencies include the maximization of the 100 million-liter-per-day (MLD) capacity of the Cardona Water Treatment Plant, which draws water from the central portion of Laguna Lake; operation of standby deepwells which can provide additional 115 MLD; and operation of the 15- to-20-MLD Marikina Portable Water Treatment Plant, which will draw and can treat water from the Marikina River.

De Dios also affirms that Manila Water continues to support and work with MWSS for the development and implementation of short- to long-term projects to ensure sustainability of future water supply which include the Calawis Antipolo Water Source System and the East Bay Water Supply Project which will source water from the eastern flank of Laguna Lake.

Other projects being eyed as medium- to long-term water sources aside from harnessing Laguna Lake include the New Wawa Dam Project in Rizal Province, the Kaliwa Dam Project and the Kaliwa River Project which will harness water from Kaliwa River downstream of Quezon Province. 

Furthermore, the MWSS project for the construction of the new 15-kilometers aqueduct and 6.4- kilometer tunnel has been completed which will ensure 1,600 MLD to flow towards La Mesa Dam, optimizing the flow of excess water from Ipo to La Mesa Dam.

Sustainability pillars

Manila Water is also focused on rolling out its service improvement plan that highlights four sustainability pillars necessary to ensure the viability of the environment which sustains the water cycle, and on which the company establishes its long-term viability.

These pillars are Water Security, to ensure adequacy of water resources for current and future customers; Service Accessibility, to expand service coverage to more communities in the East Zone; Service Continuity, to ensure that customers continue to receive high-quality service even in the event of natural or even man-made calamities; and Environmental Sustainability, to safeguard the sustainability of the environment that supports the East Zone through various wastewater programs.

To fulfill its plans, Manila Water maintains a significant level of its capital expenditure (CAPEX) for both its water and wastewater projects in the next five years. The focus of these P105-billion worth of CAPEX projects remains to be water supply security, service continuity, and wastewater coverage expansion.

Water Security

Manila Water is currently working with the regulator-approved Four-Water System Masterplan as the company continues to support and work with MWSS for the development and implementation of short- to long-term projects to ensure sustainability of future water supply. The water source roadmap includes the Angat-La Mesa Water System, Antipolo Water System, Laguna Lake Water System and the East Sources Water System.

The Angat-La Mesa Water System includes the Umiray-Angat Transbasin Rehabilitation Project and the Sumag River Diversion Project which will further harness the Sumag River in Bgy. Sumag, General Nakar in Quezon Province while the Antipolo Water System will draw water from Wawa-Calawis in Antipolo with a combined yield of 518 million liters of water by 2025. The first phase of the Calawis project has already been completed and is now undergoing commissioning and testing.

The East Bay Water Supply Project under the Laguna Lake Water System will source water from the eastern flank of Laguna Lake even as the company has completed the Cardona Water Supply Project which gets water from the central portion of the bay. The East Bay Water Supply Project is expected to add 250 MLD supply for the unserved areas of Rizal as well as for the Central Distribution System through the Taguig area.

Manila Water continues to closely work with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) after the agencies have approved the implementation of the much-needed interim additional sources especially as the summer peaks.

Service Accessibility

As of yearend 2022, Manila Water’s service coverage in the East Zone had reached 1,150 million water service connections, covering 7.4 million residents in the eastern part of Metro Manila and the entire province of Rizal.

Of the total number of connections, 95 percent or 1.095 million are domestic customers while five or 55,154 are commercial and industrial customers.

Manila Water’s network of water lines continues to expand as part of its continuing commitment to further provide greater access and ensure delivery of potable water particularly to the highest and farthest locations within the east concession area. As of December 2022, Manila Water has laid and now maintains 5,366 kilometers of water pipelines in eastern Metro Manila and parts of Rizal province.

“Through these additional water lines, Manila Water will be able to continuously expand the water service coverage for the whole east zone and will substantially serve additional customers beyond its central distribution system,” Manila Water Corporate Communications Affairs Group Head Jeric Sevilla said.

Manila Water has also been able to provide access to its services to more than 2 million population from marginalized communities in the East Zone through its flagship program Tubig Para sa Barangay (TPSB) or Water for the Community program. With more than 750 projects completed across the concession area, families from these urban poor communities are provided clean and safe water straight to their homes, greatly improving the quality of life. Aside from this, other benefits gained from TPSB include remarkable reduction in cases of illegal connections and subsequently a decrease in systems losses or non-revenue water (NRW).

Service Continuity

From its 3.1 million customers at the start of operations, Manila Water’s clients has grown into almost seven and a half million in 2022, reaching significant milestones such as residents gaining access to 24-hour water supply, expansion of water mains and distribution lines, and more water delivered to customers.

Apart from these, non-revenue water (NRW) or level of water losses was significantly reduced, from a dismal 63% of production pre-1997 to the current world-class rate of 12%. With an average daily production of 1400 to 1500 MLD, the approximate volume recovered with this reduction is about 700 MLD, which is equivalent to what a medium-sized dam can provide. This translates to increased operational efficiency as less water losses means more water can be delivered even to the highest and farthest portions of the East Zone.

“Even during the height of the pandemic, we made sure to supply our customers with clean and safe water, 24/7. They can expect the same scenario during Summer and El Niño with our augmentation sources, and even during natural calamities such as

flooding and earthquakes, with the emergency reservoirs we have installed in a number of evacuation centers in our concession. We remain persistent in improving our services and infrastructure to fulfill our commitments to our stakeholders and the environment,” said De Dios.

Since its establishment in 1997, Manila Water has maintained its mission of creating an exceptional customer experience in the provision of sustainable solutions vital to health and life.

“With all our efforts geared towards excellent service, we are proud to have been recognized as Water Company of the Year in 2022, as given by the Global Water Awards ‘(f)or the water company that made the most significant contribution to the development of the international water sector in 2021’. While we do not rest in our laurels as we continue to work with the government to provide the 24/7 water supply, we also encourage the public to continue to use water wisely and responsibly to minimize water wastage,” De Dios added