East Zone concessionaire Manila Water announces its desludging schedule for the first   quarter of this year as it encouraged its customers to avail of the services to prevent clogging of their septic vaults as well as to maintain the cleanliness of waterways, creeks and rivers to avoid the overflowing of untreated wastewater.

Manila Water Corporate Strategic Affairs Group Head Jeric Sevilla Jr. said the desludging services will not entail any additional charge on the part of the customers adding that all it takes is for customers to coordinate with their respective barangays for the respective schedules to avail of the services.

“There will be no collection of any fee for those who want to avail of the desludging services as this is already part of what they pay for in their water bill,” Sevilla said.

He also stressed that it is vital to do septic tank siphoning every five years to ensure that the wastewater collected from septic tanks will undergo proper treatment through the company's septage treatment plants before they are discharged back to bodies of water.

Sevilla said that residents of Barangays 773 and 774 in the city of Manila would get a chance to avail of the septic tank cleaning as well as some parts of Barangay Pinagkaisahan in Makati City up to February.

Residents of Barangays Kalawaan and Manggahan in Pasig City are also scheduled to get the same services during the same period as well as Barangay Tuktukan in Taguig; Barangay Tagpos in Binangonan Rizal; Barangays Balite, Burgos, Manggahan, San Isidro and San Jose, all in Rodriguez, Rizal, and some portions of Barangay San Juan in Taytay, Rizal.

In Quezon City, parts of Barangay Pasong Tamo and Barangay San Roque, and Barangay Mayamot in Antipolo are included in the list until the end of March this year.

For the month of March, Manila Water will also extend its desludging services to beneficiaries and residents of the following barangays: Barangays Manggahan, Rosario, San Isidro, San Jose and San Rafael in Rodriguez, Rizal; and Barangay Gulod Malaya in San Mateo, Rizal.

“Customers in other areas would just need to verify the schedule of the desludging activities in their respective barangays by calling the customer hotline of Manila Water through 1627,” Sevilla said.

He explained that prior to the desludging schedule, Manila Water will be implementing a census or survey of each location to keep track of the desludging cycle.

Sevilla added that on the actual day of desludging, customers are required to ensure that septic tanks are already opened by the owner to expedite the siphoning services.

Manila Water is the concessionaire of the East Zone of the Metropolitan Waterworks Sewerage System that provides water and wastewater services to about six million residents in eastern Metro Manila and Rizal Province.