Manila Water takes steps to ensure supply security
Manila Water Company is embarking on a service improvement plan focused on water security and sustainability with the aim of averting any future water shortage and to meet the demand of its increasing customer base.
In a statement, the utility said it currently has a regulator-approved FourWater System Masterplan as the company continues to support and work with MWSS for the development and implementation of short- to long-term projects to ensure sustainability of future water supply.
The water source roadmap includes the Angat-La Mesa Water System, Antipolo Water System, Laguna Lake Water System and the East Sources Water System.
The Angat-La Mesa Water System, includes the Umiray-Angat Transbasin Rehabilitation Project and the Sumag River Diversion Project which will further harness the Sumag River in Brgy. Sumag, General Nakar in Quezon Province.
The Antipolo Water System will draw water from Wawa-Calawis in Antipolo with a combined yield of 518 million liters of water by 2025. The first phase of the Calawis project has already been completed and is now undergoing commissioning and testing.
The East Bay Water Supply Project under the Laguna Lake Water System will source water from the eastern flank of Laguna Lake even as the company has completed the Cardona Water Supply Project which gets water from the central portion of the bay.
Other projects being eyed as mediumto long-term water sources aside from harnessing Laguna Lake include the New Wawa Dam Project in Rizal Province, the Kaliwa Dam Project and the Kaliwa River Project which will harness water from Kaliwa River downstream of Quezon Province.
Furthermore, the construction of the new 15-kilometers aqueduct and 6.4kilometer tunnel is already completed in coordination with MWSS which will provide another 1,600 million liters per day (MLD) to flow towards La Mesa Dam, optimizing the flow of excess water from Ipo to La Mesa Dam. The company last week commissioned its ₱5.6-billion NovalichesBalara Aqueduct 4 (NBAQ4) in Quezon City which will convey up to 1,000 million liters of water per day (MLD). The NBAQ4 project involves the construction of a new intake facility and access bridge at the La Mesa reservoir, a 7.3-kilometer underground aqueduct with a 3.1-meter diameter passing under Commonwealth Avenue, and an outlet portal and downstream distribution works at the Balara Treatment Plant.
This project used a tunnel-boring machine (TBM), which was named “Dalisay.” It was the first time in the Philippines a TBM was used in an urban setting, allowing the massive pipe-laying project to proceed underneath Commonwealth Avenue without disturbing traffic since its launch in 2020.
Apart from all these water-supply augmentation projects, the company is currently strengthening its climate-change mitigation programs aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 of the Paris Agreement to help further ensure water supply reliability.
"Manila Water conducts several initiatives to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions while making our operations more efficient and addressing operations risks," East Zone Operations Group Director Joemar Emboltorio said.
The water concessionaire is also tremendously involved in the protection and reforestation of key watersheds through its watershed management program. As of 2021, more than 1.2 million trees had been planted and maintained by Manila Water in the watersheds.
Manila Water is committed to building climate-smart and resilient infrastructure to ensure uninterrupted water supply to its increasing customers and adapt the Decarbonization Roadmap to meet Net Zero by 2050.