By Madelaine B. Miraflor
West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) is still more than halfway through its target sewerage coverage of 47 percent by 2021 after ending last year with only 20 percent sewerage coverage.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
A statement showed that it took Maynilad 12 years to increase its sewerage coverage from only 6 percent in 2007 to 20 percent by the end of 2018.
This means the company may have a lot of catching up to do. In its plan previously submitted to Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), the company is targeting to increase its sewerage coverage by 47 percent by 2021, 68 percent by 2026, 87 percent by 2031, and 100 percent by 2036.
To achieve 20 percent sewerage coverage, Maynilad said it had to invest as much as P23.3 billion since the firm's privatization.
This investment went into the construction of new wastewater treatment facilities and rehabilitation of existing ones, acquisition of new vacuum trucks for septic tank cleaning, and installation of new sewer lines, among others.
“Increasing sewerage coverage by just one percent requires an average investment of about P1.6 billion, so the level of investment to enhance the wastewater infrastructure is huge. Nevertheless, this is something we have to do to ensure environmental sustainability,” said Maynilad President and Chief Executive Officer Ramoncito S. Fernandez.
He then assured that the company has a roadmap towards the attainment of 100 percent sewerage coverage by the end of the concession period.
"We are working with our government partners to facilitate completion of our sewerage projects despite right-of-way conflicts, permit issuance delays, and lot acquisition issues,” Fernandez said.
With its recent completion of new sewage treatment plants in Pasay and Parañaque, Maynilad now operates 19 Sewage Treatment Plants, two Sewage and Septage Treatment Plants, and one Septage Treatment Plant with a combined treatment capacity of an estimated 662,000 cubic meters of wastewater per day.
Maynilad is also currently constructing additional wastewater treatment facilities in Valenzuela, Cavite City, and Tunasan and Cupang in Muntinupa.
Once completed in 2020, Maynilad will be able to increase sewerage coverage in the West Zone to 26 percent.
Meanwhile, areas that are not connected to Maynilad’s sewer network are being provided septic tank cleaning services.
Home to more than 12 million people, Metro Manila's sewerage coverage only stands at 13 percent as of early-2018.
Wastewater, or water that has been used, needs to be treated before it gets discharged to freshwater bodies and marine waters because it contains a number of contaminants that can pollute and harm the country's aquatic resources.
When discharged on lands, wastewater can also leach into underground water tables and potentially contaminate aquifers and underground water.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), wastewater is also a big health issue as it carries and transports a myriad of diseases and illnesses.