Maynilad investing P200 million on used water purification project

West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. said in a Tuesday virtual press briefing that it was spending about P200 million for modular water treatment plants that would purify used water, making it potable and thus expanding its water sources during times of shortage.

In a separate new release, Maynilad explained that the modular treatment plants (ModTP) would purify used water rather than purify raw water drawn directly from rivers.

The water distributor emphasized that the effort would purify already-treated used water that would otherwise be merely discharged to rivers by its sewage treatment plants (STP).

The company said that the practice was used in Singapore, South Africa, Namibia, and the United States.

“Water is a scarce resource. Given the growing population’s increasing demand for water plus the strain on existing sources due to climate change, we should consider using previously untapped sources—including used water—to augment supply," said Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez.

"There are now reliable and effective treatment technologies that make it a viable option,” Fernandez added.

For his part, Maynilad Quality, Sustainability and Resiliency head Roel Espiritu said that “the treated used water discharged by STPs is actually a more reliable water source than raw river water because it is climate independent; the quality is controlled and less variable.

“If we use the river directly as a source, trash and other pollutants thrown into it by surrounding communities could drastically change the river water’s quality. This could affect the volume output of a ModTP, which has to adjust its treatment parameters with sudden shifts in the raw water quality,” said Espiritu.

Maynilad is eyeing to produce 10 million liters per day (MLD) of “new water” or the purified used water from sewage treatment plants.

The company was already treating raw water from Laguna Lake in a similar way, as it uses a sewage treatment method for initial purification of the lake water before it passes through several more treatment processes for full conversion to drinking water.

The company has been tapping Laguna Lake as an alternative raw water source since 2010, which enabled it to reduce over-reliance on Angat Dam and serve customers in the south.

Maynilad said its modular treatment plants would use a treatment technology from Israel—a known global leader in water innovation.

The technology featured a multi-stage process that included Pressurized Media Filtration, Ultrafiltration, Reverse Osmosis, and Chlorine Disinfection to convert used water to drinking water.

“By including used water to our supply source options, we have enhanced capability to generate more water whenever existing supplies run short,” said Fernandez.

Maynilad added that it was working with local government units, the Department of Health and other government agencies to ensure that the used water treated by Maynilad’s ModTP was potable.

P16 billion 2022 capital expenditure

Meanwhile, Fernandez said Maynilad had earmarked P16 billion as capital expenditure for 2022 for various supply augmentation projects.

Among these projects were new plants that would source water from Laguna Lake, sewage treatment plants, and rehabilitation of La Mesa Dam so it could withstand the so-called "big one" earthquake.

Maynilad provides water and wastewater services to residents in most parts of the City of Manila; northern and western parts of Quezon City; western parts of Makati City; and the Cities of Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Valenzuela, Muntinlupa, Navotas, and Malabon in Metro Manila.

It also serves the municipalities of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario; as well as the cities of Bacoor, Cavite, and Imus in Cavite. — DVM, GMA News