The water interruption in parts of Metro Manila last Friday confused Filipinos on the duration and the scheduled allocations of water which was announced after.
Only Manila Water, which covers the east side or zone of Manila, announced a water interruption in the areas it covers.
The water concessionaire said that the water shortage will be experienced for the whole summer. In the meantime, it posted schedules on its Facebook and Twitter accounts of barangays per city that will experience low pressure to no water.
Manila Water covers 23 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila and province of Rizal.
- Mandaluyong
- Makati
- Pasig
- Pateros
- San Juan
- Taguig
- Marikina
- Parts of Quezon City and Manila
- The towns of Angono, Baras, Binangonan, Cainta, Cardona, Jalajala, Morong, Pililia, Rodriguez, Tanay, Taytay, Teresa, San Mateo and Antipolo in the province of Rizal
Meanwhile, the rest of the places, including the municipalities of Cavite province, were not affected with this because another concessionaire Maynilad provides for their water supply.
Based on its website, Maynilad covers the west zone of the metropolis.
- Manila (all but portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana)
- Quezon City (west of San Juan River, West Avenue, EDSA, Congressional, Mindanao Avenue, the northern part starting from the Districts of Holy Spirit and Batasan Hills)
- Makati (west of South Super Highway)
- Caloocan
- Pasay
- Parañaque
- Las Pinas
- Muntinlupa
- Valenzuela
- Navotas
- Malabon
- Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario in Cavite
Jennifer Rufo, Maynilad Corporate Communications, said that Maynilad’s areas of coverage will not be affected with the ongoing El Niño or drought season.
“Wala pong affected sa Maynilad kasi ang Maynilad po kumukha ng raw water supply directly sa Angat Dam so dahil maayos pa po ang level ng tubig sa Angat dam at nakikita naman po ng (National Water Resources Board) na ‘yung alokasyon namin ay hindi pa dapat mabawasan,” she said.
Despite Manila Water’s constant updates on the schedules of allocations, some Filipino residents of these locations aired online that these were not followed accordingly.
What happened before?
Since the first week of March, Manila Water had warned the public through social media on its possible operational adjustments in the east zone due to the El Niño phenomenon.
However, it did not issue any detailed advisory the day before the water interruption took place.
On March 8, the company issued an apology on Facebook.
Jeric Sevilla Jr., Manila Water Corporate Communications, explained that the dry spell resulted in its source, La Mesa Dam in Quezon City to reach below its critical level.
Its critical level is 69 meters. The water level is now 68.93 meters.
Sevilla said that it had already maximized the allocation from its other source, the Angat Dam in Bulacan province.
“Kapos po talaga tayo ng supply at nagsisimula pa lang tayo ng tag-init sa tapos may El Niño pa po. Mataas ang demand talaga so para po mapagkasya natin ito — ‘yung available na supply — nagpapatupad po tayo ng mga low water or low pressure or no water across the concession area,” he said.
The three main sources of water in Metro Manila are Angat Dam, La Mesa Dam and Ipo Dam in Bulacan.