MAYNILAD Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) is expected to produce at least 10 million liters per day (MLD) of potable water from treated used water coming from its Sewerage Treatment Plants (STP) in Paranaque City, the company’s top official said on Tuesday.
At a news conference following the launch of Maynilad’s New Water Project, Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez said the additional water supply would be fed into the distribution system where it will blend with the standard drinking water produced by Maynilad’s La Mesa Treatment Plants.
Treated used water from Maynilad’s STP, as mandated by the DENR, needs to pass water quality standards before being released back into the environment. With its New Water Project, Maynilad will be utilizing this treated used water to make it potable, thereby avoiding the risk of further contamination as it ends up in rivers or lakes. Maynilad has been sourcing water from Laguna de Bay, but this entails additional cost, as water treatment is dependent on quality of water to be treated.
Also, using treated used water avoids the trouble of water turbidity that occurs during heavy rainfall or intense typhoon, thereby affecting the company’s capacity to produce potable water for its customers.
The blended supply from treated used water and water from La Mesa will then be conveyed to Barangays San Dionisio and San Isidro in Parañaque City, which are the areas nearest to the modular treatment plant (ModTP) location. Some 38,700 customers in these barangays will benefit from the additional supply, as it will improve water availability in the area.
By including used water in its alternative raw water source options, Maynilad will have enhanced capability to produce more water whenever existing supplies run short.
Patrick Ty, chief regulator of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) who attended the ceremonial launch of Maynilad’s New Water Project lauded the company for its initiative.
He also assured the public that MWSS Regulatory Office will make sure that only safe, drinking water that passes the Philippine National Standard for Drinking Water will be distributed by MWSS private water concessionaires.
“Our primary regulatory requirement is for water flowing from the tap to pass the Philippine National Standard for Drinking Water,” Ty told the BusinessMirror in an interview. He said the MWSS Regulatory Office is well aware and fully supports the initiative, which will help augment Maynilad’s raw water supply.
Maynilad’s New Water recently passed the potability test conducted by the Paranaque City Health Office and has been issued a Certificate of Potability by the same office.
The issuance of a Certificate of Potability proves that the New Water project meets the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water.
Maynilad has been looking into potable water reuse since 2019. The initiative is in line with the company’s bid to expand its alternative raw water source options so it can better augment supply during times of shortage.
Used water as an alternative raw water supply source for drinking water is not new, says Fernandez.
Benchmarking with Namibia in Southern Africa and Singapore in Asia, Maynilad would be the first in the Philippines to produce drinkable reused water.
The company will utilize one of its new ModTP to convert treated used water into a potable supply called New Water.
These ModTPs use treatment technology from Israel, a known global leader in water innovation.
The used water from households that Maynilad collects through its conveyance system will pass through a STP where it will undergo a series of treatment processes such as Screening, Aeration, Biological Nutrient Removal, Sedimentation, Ultraviolet Disinfection, etc.) to become “treated used water”, which meets the Ambient Water and General Effluent Standards of 2021 set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.