Maynilad Water Services Inc. said it is calibrating its operational systems in response to a memorandum issued by the Office of the President to address the looming El Niño dry spell.
The memo signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin required the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water Company, the National Water Resources Board and all local water utilities administration to submit a detailed monthly report on water supply and demand to the Water Regulatory Management Office.
Water agencies were also asked to instantly report aberrations in water supply, especially if there is a sudden spike in demand and a supply deficit.
They were also encouraged to implement water conservation measures, such as but not limited to non-revenue water management and water pressure management.
The memo asked all water-related projects to expedite completion to reduce non-revenue water and upgrade water distribution pipes. Local government units were encouraged to process the requests of water service providers for waterworks within a reasonable period of time.
The WRMO, a newly-formed agency under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, overseas the implementation of strategies towards water conservation, monitor compliance of government agencies and instrumentalities with the aforementioned water conservation measures, and provide quarterly updates to the Office of the President.
Maynilad and other water agencies recognize the threat of El Niño to customers and expressed cooperation with the national government in implementing mitigation measures to soften the impact of the dry spell.
The MWSS, Maynilad and Manila prepared short to medium-term water sources like the portable water treatment plants in Marikina and Cavite. The Markina plant was commissioned and now supplies about 15 million liters of water per day.
Maynilad officials said while deep well rehabilitation was not within the scope of the service contract with the government, efforts are underway to revive deep wells located within its service area in the west zone, to provide additional sources of water.
The National Water Resources Board approved the use of ground water from existing deep wells in case such a need arises.
Maynilad said it is also fast-tracking the replacement of leaky pipes to lower non-revenue water and manage water usage and conservation which is critical in time of low level water supply.
It is replacing 477.2 kilometers of old, leaky pipes over the next five years, in line with its program to upgrade the distribution system and reduce water losses.
