Manila Water readies plans amid feared drop in Angat water level

East Zone concessionaire Manila Water on Wednesday said it is readying its water supply contingency and augmentation plans to prepare for the coming hot dry season months and in light of lower-than-projected levels at Angat Dam.

The National Water Resources Board (NWRB) earlier said that the water level in Angat Dam may drop to its critical level of 180 meters by April based on the current water consumption and projected weather. 

Angat Dam, which supplies 90% of Metro Manila’s water needs, did not reach the expected water level of 212 meters at the end of 2021, according to the NWRB.

With this, Manila Water said it is working and coordinating closely with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the NWRB “to help ensure that customers will experience continuous water supply even during peak demand periods.”

The East Zone of Metro Manila water distributor said its contingencies include the maximization of the 100 million-liter-per-day (MLD) capacity of the Cardona Water Treatment Plant, which draws water from Laguna Lake; operation of deep-wells 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.

“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,” said Manila Water president and CEO Jocot De Dios.

“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,” added De Dios.

Apart from the contingency measures, Manila Water said operational adjustments will also be implemented such as 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 from the nearby Alat Dam, it said.

Although these supply augmentation measures are in place, Manila Water said it continues to advocate responsible use of water with its government partners, MWSS and NWRB.

While the government and the concessionaires work together to provide the needed water supply, the public is encouraged to use water wisely and responsibly to minimize water wastage.

Manila Water also said it continues to support and work with MWSS for development and implementation of short- to long-term projects to ensure sustainability of future water supply 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 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, it said.

Furthermore, the MWSS project for the construction of the new 15-kilometers aqueduct and 6.4- kilometer tunnel is 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, according to Manila Water.

Manila Water provides water and wastewater services to residents of the cities of Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig, and Marikina; and Municipality of Pateros. It is also in charge of the southeastern parts of Quezon City, and Sta. Ana and San Andres in the City of Manila.

In the province of Rizal, it services the city of Antipolo, and municipalities of San Mateo, Rodriguez, Cainta, Taytay, Teresa, Angono, Baras, Binangonan, Jalajala, Cardona, Morong, Pilillia, and Tanay. —LBG, GMA News