MAYNILAD Water Services, Inc. said it could further suspend its plan to interrupt water services with levels rising at the dams supplying the capital.
“We were able to suspend service interruptions over the past four days because rains over the Ipo watershed have been keeping water level in Ipo Dam high,” Jennifer C. Rufo, head of Maynilad corporate communications, said in a Viber message on Sunday.
She added that increased water levels at Bulacan’s Ipo Dam, which is downriver from Angat Dam, the main source of water for Metro Manila, allowed the company to still access 2,400 million liters per day (MLD), despite reduced water releases from Angat.
“Given this, we expect to be able to indefinitely suspend the daily interruptions, but they will immediately be reinstated once the rains over the watersheds stop and inflows to Ipo Dam start dwindling,” she said.
On Saturday, Maynilad announced the suspension of planned service interruptions in parts of Caloocan, Malabon, Manila, Valenzuela, Navotas and Quezon City for July 15-16, saying that improved supply from Ipo Dam mitigated the impact of reduced releases from Angat Dam.
Last week, the west zone water concessionaire announced a program of nine-hour daily water interruptions starting July 12, affecting about 591,000 accounts.
The National Water Resources Board had reduced the water allocation for Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), after water levels at Angat fell below the dam’s minimum operating level.
“The water interruptions have been suspended from Friday until (Monday) morning. We will assess (on Monday) night if the interruption will resume or not,” Patrick James B. Dizon, head of the MWSS Angat/Ipo operations management division, said in a Viber message.
As of 6 a.m. on Sunday, the water level in Angat Dam increased to 179.06 meters from 178.48 meters a day earlier, though still lower than its 180-meter minimum operating level, while Ipo Dam levels dipped to 100.02 meters from 100.03 meters the day before.
Ms. Rufo said that because the habagat (southwest monsoon) is ongoing, Maynilad hopes that rain will continue to fall over watersheds to further increase the water level at Angat Dam.
Separately, Maynilad said that it plans to spend P1 billion to reactivate over 60 deep wells this year.
It has been tapping deep wells, both old and new, which could provide around 32 MLD of additional supply in preparation for El Niño, Maynilad said.
The company said these deep wells are located in Caloocan, Quezon City, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Bacoor, Cavite City, Kawit, and Imus.
By the end of this month, the company said it expects to produce about 12.38 MLD from its deep wells in 19 locations.
Deep wells are reactivated only as a contingency measure due to the expected water shortages brought on by El Niño. Groundwater is not deemed a sustainable source of water, considering the proximity of Metro Manila to Manila Bay, from where salt water could seep into groundwater reserves, rendering them unusable.
“We have found some viable deep wells, and their yield will add to our water supply should El Niño further affect the availability of water from traditional sources,” Maynilad President and Chief Executive Officer Ramoncito S. Fernandez, said in a statement over the weekend.
Maynilad serves the cities of Manila, except San Andres and Sta. Ana. It also operates in Quezon City, Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, and Malabon. It also supplies the cities of Cavite, Bacoor, and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario, all in Cavite province.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has a majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.
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