Govt admits water crisis in Metro Manila

The government has conceded that there is indeed a water crisis affecting a large portion of Metro Manila, particularly those being serviced by west area concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. "In the area of Maynilad I believe they are in a crisis situation because you are already affecting almost 50 percent," said Public Works secretary Rogelio Singson, a former president of Maynilad, at a press briefing in Malacañang Tuesday. Maynilad is sourcing its water from Angat Dam, whose water level is now at its record low of 157.6 meters. Among the areas serviced by Maynilad, 49 percent—344 barangays with roughly three million residents—are affected by the water shortage, with about 32 barangays having no water at all. Maynilad serves over seven million customers in Metro Manila and parts of Cavite. Its concession area includes the cities of Manila except portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana, parts of Quezon City and Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon. It also serves the municipalities of Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario in Cavite. Singson however said areas serviced by east area concessionaire Manila Water Co. Inc. are not experiencing the same dilemma. Manila Water serves over one million households in the east zone, which includes San Juan, Marikina, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pateros, Taguig, Makati and parts of Manila, Parañaque and Quezon City. It also supplies water and wastewater services to several towns in Rizal province, including San Mateo , Rodriguez, Antipolo, Cainta, Angono, Taytay, Binangonan, Baras and Jala-jala. About 60 percent of Angat Dam's water goes to Maynilad, while 40 percent goes to Manila Water. By contrast, only about 21 percent of Manila Water's customers are affected by the water shortage, Singson said. "What we'd really like to do is appeal to the general public that there is a substantial reduction in the supply coming from Angat," said Singson. "Let's try to do our part by conserving water at this time." He said the government has requested the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to help disseminate water conservation information in local government units.

Alternative water sources To immediately address the problem, the government is undertaking cloud seeding operations to increase rainfall in the Angat area, Singson said. Without rainfall or any other source of additional water for Angat, the water there would be good for 60 days, he added. Emergency leak repairs are also being undertaken after the government secured a moratorium on permits from barangays and city engineers. "There is a huge amount of volume of water loss still in the system as far as Maynilad is concerned," Singson said. Leakage or non-revenue water, or water that is wasted, for Maynilad amounted to 52 to 53 percent as of December last year, while Manila Water's is at 14 to 15 percent. He said they have also mobilized 40 water tankers in waterless areas—30 from Maynilad and 10 from Manila Water. Singson said his department is looking at sourcing water from other sources. He said that just before he left Maynilad, the two concessionaires had submitted a proposal to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) that they were willing to source water from Pampanga, Wawa in Marikina, Laiban in Rizal, Sierra Madre, and Laguna Lake. "Personally my advocacy has been why don't we manage Laguna Lake properly. It's right in the middle of the metropolis and adjoining towns. It's a very good source of water provided it is managed properly," said Singson. He said Ayala Alabang's water is now supplied by a 100-million-liter-per-day facility in Muntinlupa that Maynilad built which sources water from the Laguna Lake.
Napocor's fault Singson blamed the National Power Corp. (Napocor) for the water shortage besetting Metro Manila, saying the power producer released from Angat Dam more water than necessary late last year as a precautionary measure against flooding. Angat Dam had a "very good" water level of 210 meters—almost at the spilling level—before tropical storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng hit Luzon late last year. But the Napocor released more water than necessary after the two cyclones hit, he said. "After Ondoy and Pepeng, instead of just releasing enough to hit your upper rule curve, Napocor, who is in control of Angat, released the equivalent of three months' supply for the domestic use of Metro Manila," said Singson. "They were spilling more than what was necessary because they were afraid that there might be another typhoon coming," he said. He said that as the head of Maynilad then, he and Manila Water executives wrote the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) and the MWSS to stop releasing water from Angat Dam because "the drop in the level was just too fast." He said state weather forecasters had also warned that there would be a drought in 2010. Singson said that while Napocor officials may have followed protocol, they should have taken into consideration the predicted drought. He said there should be a "dynamic water protocol." "The water level in Angat, if only it was managed properly, we would not have any of these difficulties or at least not as severe as what we are encountering at this time," he said. But Singson said making responsible officials accountable is up to the NWRB, the lead government agency in the Philippine water sector which is in charge of policy-making and has regulatory and quasi-judicial functions. He said he has talked to Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras—the former president of Manila Water—to address protocol problems within the Napocor. - KBK, GMANews.TV