East Zone concessionaire Manila Water is focused on rolling out its service improvement plan to continuously meet its service obligations, as well as the demands of its growing customer base.

The service improvement plan highlights four sustainability pillars necessary to ensure the viability of the environment which sustains the water cycle, and on which the company establishes its operations even for the long-term.

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 calamities; and Environmental Sustainability, to safeguard the sustainability of the environment that supports the East Zone.

To fulfill its plans, Manila Water is set to spend P181 billion in the next five years beginning 2023 to 2027, of which a significant level of the expenditures will be to implement capital expenditure programs amounting to P105 billion for both its water and wastewater projects. The focus of these capex projects remains to be water supply security, service accessibility and continuity, and wastewater coverage expansion. 

Water Security

While the company is committed to continue to upgrade existing facilities and construct new ones to ensure service continuity in the East Zone, it is more critical to search and develop alternative water sources to be able to meet the ever-increasing demand in our service area. Angat Dam remains to be the major source of raw water for 95% of Metro Manila. With an average demand of 3% increase per year and an additional 15% demand during the summer months, it is imperative that new sources remain available to ensure supply. Added to this are the frequency of El Nino and the changing weather patterns as direct impacts of climate change, which has dire effects on water supply.

Manila Water is currently working with the MWSS and the National Water Resources Board to develop new water sources via the company’s proposed four-water system master plan.

The four-water system master plan includes Angat-La Mesa Water System (Sumag River-Umiray Angat), Laguna Lake Water System (East Bay Water Source), Antipolo Water System (Wawa-Calawis), and East Sources Water System (Kaliwa and Long-term East Sources).

The Sumag River Diversion Project, located in General Nakar, Quezon Province is expected to add 2 cubic meters per second of reliability raw water supply to ensure the 46 CMS allocation to the concessionaires while the Umiray-Angat Trans basin Rehabilitation Project involves civil works for the desilting wall, inlet and installation of intake gate and actuators.

Under construction is the 50-MLD East Bay Water Treatment Plant (WTP) Phase 1 that will draw water from the eastern part of Laguna Lake, considered the cleanest portion of the lake. The East Bay WTP is part of the East Bay Water Supply System Project that seeks to expand Manila Water’s services to more towns in Rizal province especially in Jalajala, Baras, Morong, Cardona and Binangonan.

Phase 2 of the project includes a 60-kilometer inland and submarine transmission as well as pump station and reservoir that will supply an additional 200 MLD for Pasig, Pateros, Taguig and Talim Island.

The Wawa-Calawis Project Phases 1 and 2 will be supply a total of 518 MLD to the residents of Antipolo, Teresa and Baras

Manila Water will continue to coordinate with MWSS for the long-term water sources that will ensure sufficient water supply in the east zone via the MWSS water security master plan.

Service Accessibility and Continuity

As of end-August, Manila Water’s service coverage in the east zone had reached 1,139,819 water service connections, covering 7.4 million residents in the eastern part of Metro Manila and the entire province of Rizal.

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 July 2022, Manila Water has laid and now maintains 5332 kilometers of water pipelines in eastern Metro Manila and parts of Rizal province.

Included in the service accessibility and continuity pillars are the rehabilitation and improvement of existing water treatment plants and 80 pumps stations and reservoirs, pipelaying of reliability lines and replacement of aged primary lines, automation of network distribution facilities to sustain the current level of non-revenue water at 12%, mainline extension which includes pipelaying of distribution lines to reach more customers in the farthest and elevated parts of the concession and natural calamity mitigation projects which include the construction of emergency reservoirs, pipe bridges, retrofitting of facilities, which will ensure service during natural calamities such as earthquakes.

Environmental Sustainability

Through the years, Manila Water made improvements in the delivery of water and used water services and continuously reached out to a greater number of people, including those most vulnerable to water stresses. This allows the company to make major contributions to meeting the water and sanitation targets of UN SDG 6.

Manila Water has made huge headway in growing its wastewater services in the East Zone concession area. From a single sewage treatment plant (STP) in 1997, Manila Water now operates 41 treatment facilities, increasing the company’s wastewater treatment capacity by 925%, from 40 million liters per day (MLD) at the start of operations to 410 MLD at present.

Environmental sustainability programs are anchored on the Three-River System Wastewater Masterplan which includes Marikina, Pasig and San Juan River Systems as well as the Laguna Lake System.

Manila Water will be building 12 additional STPs as it continues to fulfill its mandate of providing sewerage and sanitation services to help improve the conditions of the water environment in the metropolis and thereby safeguard public health while adhering to the regulatory and environmental standards of biological nutrient removal.