Metro water rationing may be extended further

(Updated 4 — 9:17 p.m.) More than a million Metro Manila residents may continue to face six-hour water service reductions after reserves in Angat Dam, the Philippine capital’s main water source, reached a historic low. An extension of water rationing "is possible," a source familiar with the matter told GMANews.TV on Monday, minutes after Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MWSI), held an early afternoon press briefing about the issue in its Quezon City offices. Earlier, Maynilad, Metro Manila's west zone water distributor, said that rationing for 1.126 million of its estimated seven million customers will last until Friday, July 23. Meanwhile, some 3.22 million customers — 46 percent of the total — may endure scheduled service interruptions that may last in excess of an hour or more, the company said. As a result, residents enjoying 24-hour water service may find their taps running dry during non-peak hours, Maynilad officials said. Affected areas include Las Piñas, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Manila, and Parañaque cities. "Hopefully the situation will quickly improve," the source added, refusing to say when water rationing would end. As of July 18, water levels in Angat reached 157.56 meters above sea level, considered as "the lowest water level in history," the company said in a press statement. Raw water produced during the same date reached 1,819.08 million liters of water a day (MLD), one-third lower than the normal level of 2,400 MLD, the company said. Global warming and lack of rainfall over Angat dam have contributed to low water supplies. These have also prompted the company to cut its yearly growth forecast for billed volumes — revenues from paying customers — to 10 from 18 percent. More than half of the water it distributes — at 57 percent — are either wasted or stolen, the company said, citing June 2010 figures. In 2006, its non-revenue water (NRW) ratio was at 67 percent. The company's current NRW ratio may also be affected since supplies distributed to waterless areas are "free," Herbert Consunji, the company’s chief operating officer, told reporters during the briefing. Two months’ worth of water supplies thrown out Maynilad’s situation is not helped by the fact that "two months worth of water supplies" from Angat have been thrown out late last year, Consunji said during the briefing. The move was undertaken after authorities reportedly "feared overspilling" from Angat dam that would have supposedly repeated effects of storm "Ondoy." In September last year, "Ondoy" brought day-long rainfall that submerged Metro Manila, killing hundreds, displacing thousands, and destroying hundreds of millions of pesos worth of crops and infrastructure. To avoid "throwing water out" in the future, Maynilad officials sought to have Angat dam controlled by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS). However, the dam — which includes a hydroelectric plant — has been sold to a Korean company by the Power Sector Asset and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), the body mandated to dispose of the government’s power assets. Maynilad seeks to nullify the sale, officials said during the briefing. Last May, the Supreme Court has temporarily disallowed the transaction from proceeding. Atty. Conrad Tolentino, PSALM vice-president for asset management, refused to comment about the matter. Absence of water "containers" Maynilad’s woes are compounded by the absence of an "impounding area" for its supplies, Randolph Estrallado, Maynilad’s chief finance officer, told GMANews.TV in a separate interview. The company has "ceded its control" over the La Mesa Dam, which serves as an "additional container" for water, he said. The dam is currently subsumed under the Ayala-led Manila Water Co. Inc. (MWCI), Metro Manila’s east zone distributor, which uses it as another catchment for its supply. No water rationing has been announced for the Ayala utility’s five million customers. Since Maynilad has no such "container," water released from Angat goes straight to the company’s treatment plant, Maynilad’s Estrallado added. This is why the company is also seeking government approval for joint use of La Mesa, Maynilad’s Consunji said during the same briefing. However, that may not take place. Manila Water offers assistance Instead of sharing La Mesa, Manila Water offered to have Maynilad use its 10 water tanker trucks, each capable of storing 10 cubic meters of water, Manila Water’s Corporate Communications head Jeric Sevilla told GMANews.TV over the phone. The Ayala utility also offered to provide Maynilad with 36 million liters of water a day, Sevilla said. Although four MLDs short than what Maynilad plans to buy from Manila Water, these supplies are expected to be coursed through "cross border points." These are water connections that were sealed in 1997, when Metro Manila was divided into two service areas — the east and the west zones — during water privatization. Maynilad and Manila Water officials will inspect five cross border points on Tuesday, Sevilla said. Of these areas, only one is located outside Quezon City: the San Juan City side of Aurora Boulevard. The other four areas are in Quezon City: Sauyo, EDSA, Commonwealth and West Avenues, Sevilla said. However, nothing has yet been agreed upon between both parties, Sevilla added. Maynilad seeks higher water allotments Of Angat dam’s water volumes released for Metro Manila, 60 percent is allotted to Maynilad while the remaining 40 percent is given to the Ayala-led utility. Consunji seeks to increase Maynilad’s water allotment to as much as 75 percent "to stabilize the inflow of raw water," he said. To further mitigate the effects of low water levels, Maynilad has deployed 30 water tankers to barangays which are "severely affected," or areas that have no water service for six hours or more. It will also ask permission from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to use fire trucks in water tanker operations for "free," Lourdes Marivic K. Punzalan-Espiritu, Maynilad’s Legal and Regulatory Affairs head, told GMANews.TV in another interview. "The firetrucks need to be sanitized before these can be used," she said. Call center operations will also be beefed up so that it can better respond to customer concerns. Similarly, it also established additional El Niño hotlines that will be staffed by the company’s cadet engineers and volunteer employees. Maynilad’s new hotline numbers are 981 3448, 981 3406, 981 3407, 981 3408, 981 3409. - Robert JA Basilio Jr., GMANews.TV