Metro Manila to experience water supply disruptions this month

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From the usual 210 to 212 meters, the water reservoir’s level has been down to 186 meters which was just 6 meters above the minimum operating level.

The National Water Resources Board (NWRB) then reduced the water allocation of Metro Manila from 41 cubic meters per second (cms) to 38 cms.

Although a great inconveniece to households and businesses, the lessened water supply was implemented yesterday to prepare for a possible drought with the onset of El Niño.

“The normal water allocation we receive is between 43 to 46 cms but because NWRB has lowered it to 38 cms, this will entail an appropriate action from the Maynilad and Manila Water,” Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Senior Deputy Administrator Nathaniel Santos said.

“Some areas will experience lower water pressure, while others will have shortened water service hours,” he added.

With the lessened water allocation, Maynilad has announced providing less than 12 hous of water supply daily to about 230,000 households it served.

“We will implement water interruptions in rotation in elevated and far areas in North Caloocan, Quezon City, Parañaque, Cavite, and Valenzuela,” Maynilad Water Supply Operations head Ronald Padua said.

“We are doing all our efforts to lessen the inconvenience among our customers. During the 2010 El Niño, there were areas that experienced no water supply for 24 hours. This time, we would want to prevent that from happening,” he added.