Water Concessionaires Readying for Super El Niño, Senate Told
Key Takeaways
- •Manila Water started preparing for the El Niño as early as 2022, as disclosed by MWSS Chief Regulator Patrick Lester N. Ty during a Senate hearing.
- •New supply augmentation infrastructure includes the East Bay Phase 1 treatment plant with a 50-million-liter-per-day capacity and the Marikina Portable Treatment Plant capable of 15 million liters per day.
- •Manila Water plans to maximize the Cardona plant sourcing from Laguna Lake and the Calawis plant drawing from the Upper Wawa Dam to diversify away from reliance on Angat Dam.
- •Maynilad Water Services is adopting the same supply augmentation and facility maximization strategy as Manila Water.
- •Both concessionaires are maintaining emergency resources, including mobile water tankers, static water tanks, rain catchers, and additional reservoir capacity, in case existing supplies prove insufficient.
Philippine water concessionaires Maynilad Water Services and Manila Water Co. have begun preparations and planning for the Super El Niño, with supply augmentation projects and efforts to maximize water facilities already under way, an official said on Monday.
El Niño, a climate pattern driven by unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, is typically associated with below-normal rainfall in the Philippines, a dynamic that can strain reservoir-dependent water systems such as those serving Metro Manila.
Speaking at a Senate hearing, Patrick Lester N. Ty, chief regulator at the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), told Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel that Manila Water started preparing for the El Niño in 2022 The MWSS regulates the two private concessionaires, which deliver water services to Metro Manila under long-term arrangements, with Manila Water covering the East Zone and Maynilad the West Zone.
To augment water supplies, the company constructed facilities such as East Bay Phase 1, a water treatment plant with a capacity of 50 million liters per day, and the Marikina Portable Treatment Plant, which has a capacity of 15 million liters per day, Mr. Ty said.
He added that Manila Water also plans to maximize existing facilities, including the Cardona Water Treatment Plant, which sources water from Laguna Lake, and the Calawis Treatment Plant, which retrieves water from the Upper Wawa Dam. Such alternative sources complement Angat Dam, the reservoir that supplies the bulk of Metro Manila’s raw water, which is why source diversification figures prominently in El Niño preparations.
“The same approach is being undertaken by Maynilad,” Mr. Ty said.
Mr. Ty emphasized that the water concessionaires’ objective is “resilience.” He noted that water security involves managing the water already available, but the companies are also looking at options in case existing supplies prove insufficient.
These measures include maintaining emergency resources such as mobile water tankers, static water tanks, rain catchers, and additional reservoir capacities. How the concessionaires’ augmentation projects and emergency resources perform under El Niño conditions is expected to remain in focus as the dry season progresses.
— Francessca S. Abalos, BusinessWorld Online
Source: BusinessWorld Online
