Busted Maynilad pipeline floods Sta. Mesa area in Manila
A busted pipeline of the Maynilad Water Services, Inc., turned the westbound lane of Ramon Magsaysay Blvd. near Stop & Shop, Sta. Mesa, Manila, into a water world since Wednesday night.
The strong flow of water flooded several areas of Ramon Magsaysay Blvd. until Thursday morning, reaching LRT2 Pureza Station until it was stopped after almost 12 hours.
In a statement posted on its official Twitter account, Maynilad said they were conducting a scheduled leak repair on their primary line along Santol/Magsaysay, Sampaloc, Manila, from 9 p. m. Wednesday until 9 a.m. Thursday. “The isolation valves were closed and water pressure dipped to zero pounds per square inch, prompting the execution of the repair. But upon dismantling, water from an unknown source flowed out,” Maynilad said.
To prevent the area from getting flooded even further, Maynilad opted to cut the water supply in Sta. Mesa by closing more valves, which affected its 4,000 customers in the area, particularly in Barangays 582 to 586.
In its 1 p. m. update, Maynilad said its contractors were able to stop the strong water flow by 10:30 a.m., causing the flood in the affected area to subside.
The amount of water that rushed out of the busted pipeline reached around 3,000 cubic meters – or 300 water tankers – per hour.
“Affected by the emergency service interruptions are some 200,000 residents in Las Piñas, Manila, Muntinlupa, Pasay, Parañaque, and Cavite,” Maynilad said in its Twitter account, adding that some of the households in the areas would have no water while some would have low water pressure.
Maynilad said that affected residents in Manila would have normal water supply by 7:30 p.m. while the water supply in areas in the south would resume by 8:30 p.m.
Maynilad promised to provide updates on the progress of the repairs as it apologized to customers and the public.
Meanwhile, some residents whose water supply was cut took advantage of the incident by filling up their buckets with water rushing out of the busted pipeline. Some took their baths right there.
Residents claimed that water has been leaking out of the pipeline for months already.
Boy Discher, whose house was submerged in knee-deep water, said they were sleeping when water came rushing inside their house.
Children enjoyed playing in what seemed to be a waterfall in the city. Some lay on the ground and allowed themselves to be carried by the current.
However, students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, pedestrians, and jeepneys who were on the road got themselves wet. Some pedestrians tumbled down due to the strong gush of water.