MANILA, Philippines, December 20 ----- Water supply from Angat Dam will be enough until the middle of next year unless the El Niño phenomenon intensifies, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. DENR Undersecretary Carlos Primo David said conservation measures from all sectors would be critical to mitigate the impact of El Niño. He said water supply would become a problem for Metro Manila if the El Niño phenomenon “progresses, intensifies or extends further than June.”
David said water conservation is necessary in the first and second quarters of 2024. Angat Dam supplies more than 90 percent of Metro Manila’s potable water needs as well as the irrigation of 25,000 hectares of rice fields in Bulacan and Pampanga. As of 6 a.m. yesterday, the water level in the dam was at 213.24 meters compared to 212.79 meters a day earlier. “Angat is fairly full. We’re trying to preserve it that way so that once we enter 2024, it’s at its maximum volume,” David said.
Water concessionaires Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Company Inc. have stepped up their efforts to ensure customers have enough water supply, DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said. “Companies in Metro Manila like Maynilad and Manila Water have tried to step up in terms of what they can provide by way of clean and potable water,” Loyzaga said. She cited the inauguration of Maynilad’s water treatment plant in Muntinlupa recently.
The P11-billion project is Maynilad’s third water treatment facility that draws water from Laguna de Bay. It is designed to produce 150 million liters per day (mld) at full capacity and serve around one million Maynilad customers in Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa and Cavite. Maynilad has likewise reactivated 20 deep wells, allowing it to bump up potable water supply by an additional 19.38 mld, which can boost water availability for around 90,000 customers in Caloocan, Quezon City, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Bacoor, Cavite City and Imus.
For the east zone, Manila Water is set to inaugurate the East Bay Phase 1 Water Treatment Plant this month. The plant can treat 50 mld of raw water sourced from Laguna de Bay serving 300,000 residents of Jalajala, Pililla, Baras, Cardona, Morong and Binangonan in Rizal. The DENR had earlier announced 135 water projects across the country to sound off funding requirements from the private sector. “It’s a business component for our private sector partners. The end goal is to provide potable water to any of our communities that are facing water scarcity,” Yulo said. She said the DENR would bankroll more water projects needing investments particularly on irrigation next year.
Source: philstar.com
Comments