La Mesa Water Treatment Plants to get upgrade

The two La Mesa Water Treatment Plants (LMTP) of Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) will get a 17-billion upgrade as the company tries to adapt to the "dramatic shifts" brought about by climate change to the quality of raw water supply.

A statement released on Tuesday showed that the west zone concessionaire is investing an estimated amount of 17 billion for the upgrade of LMTP 1 and 2, which have a combined production capacity of 2,400 million liters per day (MLD) and supplies potable water for some nine million Maynilad customers.

Targeted for completion in 2020, this massive LMTP 1 and 2 improvement project will enhance the treatment technology used in these facilities to address the problem of increasing turbidity levels in the raw water coming from Angat and Ipo Dams.

Turbidity level refers to the sediment content in the dams’ raw water, which increases either due to soil erosion in the watersheds after heavy rains or due to the scraping of mineral deposits from the dams’ bottom during drought periods.

Maynilad is particularly upgrading the treatment capacity of LMTP 1 and 2 from only 300 NTU (nethelometric turbidity units) to 2,000 NTU.

“Investment in additional treatment technologies is necessary given the dramatic shifts in raw water quality brought on by climate change. With this upgrade, water service to our customers will no longer be affected whenever turbidity level in the raw water increases,” said Maynilad Chief Operating Officer Randolph T. Estrellado.

Among the upgrades that will be implemented involve enhancing the facilities’ treatment capacity, retrofitting structures for improved earthquake resiliency, and automating processes for more reliable operations.

Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez said this project is part of the company's 142-billion capital expenditure plan for the period 2013 to 2017.

“We are pursuing our Capex projects despite the delayed implementation of the tariff adjustment because we have an obligation to our customers, and that includes pursuing the projects that will sustain improved service levels for current and future water consumers,” Fernandez said.

It will be recalled that Maynilad is now waiting for the government to pay it more than 13 billion for rate adjustment losses.