Maynilad Water Services, Inc. will continue to implement rotational service interruption until Sunday (November 29) more than two weeks since Typhoon Ulysses made landfall in the country and brought a lot of mud to the La Mesa Treatment Plant.
In a statement, Maynilad said it is “constrained” to extend up to November 29, 2020 the rotational service interruptions that are currently in place.
This is to “ensure that all affected customers will still get water supply daily despite the reduced production of our treatment facilities”, the company said.
As of Tuesday morning, Maynilad said that of the three sedimentation basins at La Mesa Treatment Plant that were affected by sludge accumulation due to the highly turbid raw water brought on by Typhoon Ulysses, one is already fully operational and one has already been cleared of sludge and is now being refilled.
However, it said the removal of sludge from the last affected basin is taking longer than expected.
“Per our latest estimate, it will take another five days to get the last basin working fully, ramp up production, refill all major reservoirs, and build up pressure in the pipelines,” Maynilad said.
Metro Manila currently gets 97 percent of its water needs from the 53-year old Angat Dam. In the case of Maynilad, the water it gets comes from Angat Dam that passes through Ipo Dam.
Manila Water Company, Inc., on the other hand, does not only get water from Angat Dam, but also has the exclusive use of La Mesa Dam, which serves both its emergency stock and sedimentation basin for highly turbid water.
"This is why Maynilad operations are more affected by high turbidity in the raw water. We do not have a huge impounding reservoir similar to Manila Water's La Mesa Dam where excess sediments can settle to the bottom prior to entering our treatment facilities," Maynilad pointed out.
In the next few days, Maynilad said the actual service interruption schedules that its customers will experience will gradually shorten with the continued build-up of pressure in the pipelines.
“In most areas, water service will be fully restored prior to that date, leaving only the farthest and highest points of our concession area to experience the scheduled interruptions right up to November 29, 2020,” Maynilad said.
“Meantime, we are sustaining the deployment of mobile tankers to deliver potable water,” it added.
As in previous announcements, Maynilad advised its customers to expect some discoloration in the water supply after the resumption of service.
“If this happens, water should be allowed to flow out from faucets briefly until it clears. They may also cover their faucet with a clean white cloth to serve as a filter, making sure to regularly replace the cloth as needed. Water intended for drinking should be boiled first,” Maynilad said.
“We apologize to our affected customers for the inconvenience that this situation has caused. We are working without let-up to facilitate our clearing operations and restore water service sooner rather than later,” it added.
Maynilad’s recent advisory came a day after Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Chief Regulator Patrick Ty said that MWSS Regulatory Office (RO) is now investigating the surge of customer complaints against Maynilad, which was received and monitored by the agency through various communication channels, including social media.
In the span of less than a week, Maynilad already received two Notice to Explain (NTE) from MWSS-RO.
The latest of two NTEs, issued on November 20, is demanding explanation for the complaints on the poor aesthetic quality of water coming out of customers’ taps as well as the concessionaire’s “non-adherence to its announced water service interruption schedules”.
“Maynilad is expected to submit an official explanation within this week regarding the aforementioned issues, which were observed by the MWSS RO as indication of the Concessionaire’s failure to be efficient and prudent,” Ty said on Monday.
“The Concessionaire is also expected to propose solutions that should prevent the recurrence of these issues with future typhoons,” he added.
In response to Ty’s statement, Maynilad said it “will respond to our regulators and we will cooperate”.