Manila Water Co. Inc. has implemented water supply contingency and augmentation plans to prepare for the coming summer months and in light of lower-than-projected levels at Angat Dam.
In a statement, Manila Water said contingencies were coordinated with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the National Water Resources Board (NWRB).
These include the maximization of the 100 million liters per day (MLD) capacity of the Cardona water treatment plant which draws water from Laguna Lake; operation of deepwells which can provide additional 115 MLD; and operation of the 20 MLD Marikina portable water treatment plant which can treat water from the Marikina River.
As of 8 a.m. yesterday, Angat Dam’s level was at 199.06 meters or 12.94 meters below the normal high water level of 212 meters.
“We are very grateful to MWSS and its Board for approving these projects as well as the NWRB for allowing us to harness groundwater through deep wells as part of our contingency and augmentation measures. We are grateful that NWRB decided to maintain its allocation to MWSS at 48 cubic meters per second (CMS) from Angat Dam for January and we continue to put our plans into motion to support MWSS’ call for continuous supply in our concession area given the current pandemic and as we head towards the summer season,” said Jocot De Dios, Manila Water president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
De Dios said operational adjustments will also be implemented. These include backwash recovery or re-treating the wastewater byproduct of the water treatment process and water pressure management across the East Zone when needed.
Additional inflows to the La Mesa Reservoir may also be harnessed by Manila Water from the nearby Alat Dam if needed.
The new 15-kilometer aqueduct and 6.4 kilometer tunnel are now on stream which will provide another 1,600 MLD to flow towards La Mesa Dam, optimizing the flow of excess water from Ipo to La Mesa Dam.
However, Manila Water said despite these supply augmentation measures, customers must still practice responsible use of water resources.
De Dios said development and implementation of short- to long-term projects to ensure sustainability of future water supply are ongoing which include the Calawis Antipolo source system and the East Bay water supply project which will source water from the eastern flank of Laguna Lake.
Other projects being eyed by Manila Water 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 and the nearby Kanan/Agos River project.
Manila Water mainly serves customers in Makati, Pasig, Pateros, Marikina, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Taguig, some parts of Quezon City and Manila; and several towns in Rizal province that include Taytay, Teresa, Angono, Antipolo, Baras, Binangonan, Cainta, San Mateo and Rodriguez.
