Manila Water apologizes as water interruption sked not followed; more breaks seen

Manila Water Company Inc.  apologized on Sunday for the inconsistent water service interruptions, but noted that there will be more scheduled service breaks this coming summer.

"Humihingi po tayo ng paumanhin dahil minsan po hindi nasusunod 'yung schedule dahil po sa tindi ng demand ngayon," Nestor Jeric Sevilla, Jr., Manila Water group head for corporate strategic affairs and head for corporate communications, said in an interview on GMA News TV's Balitanghali.

This comes as residents covered by Manila Water, especially those in the Mandaluyong area, complained that the schedule of water service interruptions was not being followed.

"Hindi nila na-a-ano 'yung tamang oras na mawawalan. Minsan naman nawawalan talaga, minsan nasusunod, minsan hindi," a resident of Mandaluyong City said in a separate report by Rida Reyes on Balitanghali on Sunday.

Manila Water had announced last Monday that "operational adjustments may result to low pressure to no water in certain areas" to address the continued decline in the water level at La Mesa Dam due to minimal inflows.

Manila Water's concession area — the east zone — encompasses 23 cities and municipalities spanning a 1,400-square-kilometer area that includes Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, Marikina, most parts of Quezon City, portions of Manila, as well as 14 towns of the Rizal province.

Last week's interruption in Muntinlupa, Sevilla said, was due to the failure to refill a reservoir that supplied water to the area.

"Sa tindi ng demand ay talaga pong hindi napuno ang reservoir kaya po nawalan na tubig, wala po tayong ma-i-supply na tubig doon sa bahagi ng Mandaluyong," explained Sevilla.

"Kaya talagang humihingi ng paumanhin dahil walang abiso at hindi inaasahan na hindi mapuno ang reservoir," he elaborated.

With this, Manila Water has deployed as much as 26 water tankers to supply water to those experiencing water service interruptions and those with low water pressure.

"Round the clock 'yung delivery nung ating water tankers para po magkaroon sila ng tubig man lang, lalong lalo na po bukas dahil may pasok na po," said Sevilla.

However, Sevilla noted that there may be more scheduled water service interruptions this summer given the low supply.

Sevilla said that the demand of Manila Water is at 1,740 million liters per day, but the current supply can only cover 1,600 million liters per day.

"'Yung interruption po ay kumbaga magpapatuloy po 'yan hanggat hindi po natin nano-normalize 'yung talaga pong distribution," he said.

"Pero pinipilit po nating gawan ng paraan para mag-build up ang pressure doon sa mga lugar na labis na naapektuhan," elaborated Sevilla. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/KG, GMA News