‘Dirty’ water flowing out of the tap lately?
Maynilad Water Services Inc. (Maynilad) on Tuesday explained that is because of the significant increase in the turbidity of the raw water coming from the Ipo Dam due to strong rains brought about by heavy southwest monsoon rains. Turbidity refers to increased sediment concentrations in raw water.
The private water company for the West Zone advises its customers to expect water service interruptions as it addresses the problem.
Because of the increased turbidity, Maynilad announced that it was constrained to reduce the production of the La Mesa Treatment Plants, Maynilad said in public advisory e-mailed to the media.
“Reducing our production will enable us to remove increased sediments from the raw water during treatment before the release of potable water to the distribution system. Because of this, some of our customers currently have low pressure to no water supply, and we are now deploying mobile water tankers to deliver potable water to these areas,” Maynilad said.
Maynilad’s water production will be maintained at reduced levels because rains over the Ipo watershed continue to stir up sediments in the raw water of the dam.
“In our efforts to optimize the limited supply, we are constrained to implement service interruptions daily, until such time as the turbidity situation improves. Affected areas include some barangays in Bulacan, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Quezon City, Manila, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa and Cavite,” the company said.
The specific areas that may be affected (as well as the duration of the service interruptions per area) will vary on a daily basis, depending on the level of turbidity in the raw water coming from Ipo Dam. Hence, all Maynilad customers in these areas are advised to store water when supply is available. “We will provide specific ‘water service availability’ schedule this afternoon. Updates will be provided regularly,” Maynilad said.