Maynilad Water Services Inc. has blamed algal bloom in Laguna Lake for the company’s decision to implement water service interruptions (WSI) in Muntinlupa and other areas.
Maynilad’s Putatan Water Treatment Plant in Barangay Putatan, Muntinlupa, gets raw water from the Laguna Lake. The processed water from the lake is supplied by Maynilad to households and business establishments in the plant’s supply zone.
The plant supplies water to Maynilad customers in Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Pasay; and the cities of Bacoor, Imus and Cavite, and municipalities of Rosario and Noveleta in Cavite.
Muntinlupa residents have complained about a new round of water service interruptions implemented by Maynilad since June 2, lasting from eight to 18 hours per day.
In an advisory on June 7, Maynilad said, “Our customers in portions of Bacoor, Imus, Las Pinas, Muntinlupa and Paranaque City will have water service interruption daily starting June 8, 2022 until June 15, 2022, due to raw water quality issue.”
Maynilad posted a photo on its Facebook page on June 8 that purportedly showed the algal bloom in Laguna Lake.
“Simula May 31, 2022, nagkaroon ng pagtaas sa pagdami ng algae sa Laguna Lake, dahilan kung bakit napilitan ang Maynilad na magpatupad ng service interruptions sa ilang lugar sa south (Since May 31, 2022, there has been an increase in algae in Laguna Lake, the reason why Maynilad was forced to implement service interruptions in some areas in the south),” the company said.
Maynilad said the photo showed that algae is denser or thicker outside its silt curtain that was put by the company to rescue the impact of algal bloom. The silt curtain is 95 percent complete.
“Bukod dito, magsasagawa din ang Maynilad ng dredging sa bahagi ng lawa na nakapaloob sa silt curtain upang ma-mitigate ang impact ng algal bloom sa raw water na pumapasok sa planta ng Maynilad. (Besides this, Maynilad will conduct dredging in part of the lake inside the silt curtain to mitigate the impact of algal bloom on the raw water that enters the plant of Maynilad),” it said.
It said that it continues to monitor and adjust the treatment processes to ensure good quality of water that its customers get.
Last February, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System-Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO) imposed a financial penalty of P63.97 million on Maynilad for implementing WSI in the supply zone of the Putatan plant from December 2021 to February 2022.
The WSI prompted the Muntinlupa City Council to hold a hearing to investigate Maynilad. Maynilad previously said algal bloom and the turbidity of water in Laguna Lake forced it to implement WSI.
According to the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) website, “Algal bloom is a periodic occurrence in Laguna de Bay, particularly in the Central Bay and West Bay, where Muntinlupa City is one of the lakeshore LGU’s. Algae are microscopic plants in various forms, shapes and colors. Those commonly found in Laguna de Bay are blue-green algae, green algae and diatoms.”
“The over supply of nutrients in Laguna de Bay like nitrate and phosphate makes the lake very eutrophic, or in layman’s term, very fertile. Combined with environmental conditions such as sufficient sunlight, high water temperature and calm water, the algae can grow at a very fast rate. If these environmental conditions are sustained, algal bloom happens which appears like a thick green or blue green soup,” according to website.