6.3-KM WATER TUNNEL FROM ANGAT DAM SOON TO BE PUT ON LINE

The newly built P3.29-billion, 6.3-kilometer Tunnel No. 4 that brings water from Angat Dam to water treatment plants in Metro Manila is being readied for operation, shoring up supply security in the metropolis and nearby provinces, according to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).

According to the MWSS Corporate Office, Tunnel 4 took four years to build until last month— three months ahead of schedule—and is undergoing a monthlong commissioning phase.

MWSS said in a statement that this tunnel was the centerpiece of the Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project (AWTIP), which was funded mainly with a loan from the Asian Development Bank.

The tunnel has a diameter of 4 meters and designed to accommodate raw water from Angat flowing at as much as 19 cubic meters per second (cms), which is equivalent to 1,600 million liters daily.

MWSS administrator Emmanuel Salamat said the completion of Tunnel 4 paved the way for the rehabilitation of the water transmission system’s main components that were “as old as 75 years, in poor condition, and most likely not in compliance with current structural and seismic requirements.”

“These factors could seriously interrupt Metro Manila’s water supply,” Salamat said. “Minor delays due to [enhanced community quarantine] restrictions thwarted our best efforts to place on stream the additional 19 cms into the delivery system.”

In fact, Tunnel 4 was partially operated last April, which Salamat said helped solved the annual water supply problem during the summer months.