Consumers of Maynilad Water Services Inc., may have to wait longer in terms of service interruptions starting next month, as their “cross-portal arrangement” with the Manila Water Company will no longer be extended.
In a statement, Jennifer C. Rufo, head of the corporate communications of the water utility, also noted that based on the decline in terms of the water elevation at the La Mesa Dam.
This prompted the east zone concessionaire Manila Water Company Inc. to then start slowly suspend the supply sharing.
“This development will mean less supply for Maynilad to distribute, resulting in longer daily service interruption schedules starting April 1,” Maynilad said in their statement.
According to the statement, the cross-portal arrangement was made with less water reaching the Novaliches Portal in Quezon City
Prior to the announcement, Maynilad had already implemented water service interruptions.
The water utility said that this is in anticipation of the low water effect due to the El Niño phenomenon which translates to below-normal rainfall starting June.
Earlier, Maynilad and Manila Water met with officials of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), to which resulted the later to request with the National Water Resources Board (MWRB) to increase allocation of 52 cubic meters per second (CMS) from April to May.
Maynilad currently serves customers in the west zone, which covers the cities of Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Manila, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Quezon, Valenzuela. It also services certain areas in Cavite such as the cities of Bacoor, Cavite, and Imus; and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario.
Catherine R. Cueto
