Maynilad to public: Anticipate water supply shortage in 2015

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MANILA — Maynilad Water Services Inc., the country’s largest water distributor, warned the public of an impending water supply shortage come 2015 should the country experience El Niño late this year.

According to Maynilad’s chief financial officer Randolph Estrellado, the country’s water supply for next year will depend on how bad the El Nino will be. As a matter of fact, they are considering of rationing water next year to consumers.

“The worst case is that we will have El Niño and we end the year below the 200 meters above sea level (MASL),” said Estrellado.

He added that some customers of Maynilad will not be able to enjoy uninterrupted water service, while other customers will experience a decrease in the water pressure which may last until summer.

According to Maynilad president and chief executive officer Victorico Vargas, the extraction of water fom Angat Dam would have to be lessened in order to expand its use.

Meanwhile, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. chairman Manuel Pangilinan said that they target to end the year with a 200 MASL at Angat Dam. This will give the public an assurance that there will be enough water for them to get by.

As of August 11, water levels at Angat Dam stand at 177 MASL. This is due to the lesser amount of rains that the country is experiencing these past weeks. As a matter of fact, the National Water Resources Board stopped the release of water for rice farm irrigation.

Officials from Maynilad assured that the condition will not be the same as what the public experience in 2010 when the MASL of Angat Dam went down to 157 affecting more than 300,000 customers.

As a solution, Pangilinan is suggesting to tap another water plant.

“You may have to tap water treatment plant in Pututan,  which is now 70 million liters per day but we should increase that capacity,” said Pangilinan, noting that Maynilad to date already built 28 water reservoirs in the city to increase supply of water.