Bulk water supply systems in the Philippines-

Significant improvements have been made in the provision of water supply services in the Philippines over the last two decades. The entry of private players in the sector has led to an increase in access to water supply and notable reductions in non-revenue water (NRW). This is also demonstrated by the case of Metropolitan Manila where concession contracts were awarded to Maynilad Water Services and Manila Water Company in 1997 for the provision of water and sanitation services in West Manila and East Manila, respectively. In West Manila, the share of the population with access to piped water increased from 67 per cent in 1997 to 86 per cent in 2006, the share of customers with 24×7 water supply increased from 32 per cent in 2007 to 71 per cent in early 2011, and non-revenue water reduced from 69 per cent in 2002 to 47 per cent in 2011. Likewise, in East Manila, the population served by Manila Water Company increased from 3 million in 1997 to 6.1 million in 2009, the share of customers with continuous water supply increased to over 98 per cent and NRW reduced to around 16 per cent.

However, the supply of water has become one of the foremost concerns in the Philippines today. One of the major problems is that of fragmentation of the regulatory environment amongst the National Water Resources Board, Water Districts, Local Water Utilities Administration, etc. According to the United Nations’ evaluation report of the joint programme “Enhancing Access to and Provision of Water Services with the Active Participation of the Poor”, 2013, service provision is very widely scattered among over 6,000 providers. The existence of many authorities and utilities with overlapping roles has also hampered scale efficiencies from kicking in as these institutions often do not possess the financial capacity to undertake large-scale projects to improve water infrastructure. Other problems include unfavourable climatic changes, poor raw water quality, rising demand, and legal and technical issues.

To address these problems, the Philippines government has outlined a set of targets for itself under the Philippine Development Plan 2011–16, which was formulated by the National Economic and Development Authority. These include the Millennium Development Goals of increasing the proportion of population with access to potable water from 82.9 per cent in 2007 to 86.6 per cent in 2016, eliminating all waterless areas by 2016 (498 such areas were identified in 2011), increasing the percentage of households with 24×7 water supply, and increasing the number of individual household connections.

In this regard, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Systems (MWSS), the leading agency for implementation of water infrastructure projects in the country, has also initiated a series of projects to augment services under its Water Security Legacy programme for the residents of Metropolitan Manila. Foremost among these are the development of bulk water supply systems and the identification of additional water sources to supplement existing ones. Many of these projects are being undertaken on a public–private partnership (PPP) basis. Besides, assistance from external development agencies like the Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank is being sought to improve technical and management efficiency in project implementation.

Ongoing bulk water supply projects

The provision of bulk water supply has gathered momentum in the past few years with many water districts entering into innovative ventures with private players. The first bulk water supply project in the Philippines is being implemented in Metropolitan Cebu on a PPP basis. The provincial government of Cebu signed a joint investment agreement with Cebu Manila Water Development, Inc. (CMWD) in March 2012. The Cebu bulk water supply project involves treatment and supply of 35 million litres per day (mld) of potable bulk water to several cities and municipalities of Cebu province. The scope of work includes construction of a diversion weir intake structure, a 35 mld water treatment plant (WTP), pumping stations, and a reservoir with a capacity of 9 mld, and the laying of water pipelines. Water will be sourced by CMWD from the Luyang river while the Metro Cebu Water District will be responsible for the distribution aspect. A loan of PhP 800 million was sanctioned by the Philippine Water Revolving Fund of the Development Bank of the Philippines and JICA for this project in December 2013 while CMWD is bearing the remaining cost. The project is expected to meet about 18 per cent of the anticipated average daily demand of about 187,000 connections by end-2014.

In 2013, two more bulk water supply projects were sanctioned for Davao City and Bohol province. The Davao City Water District’s (DCWD) project that involves supplying 300 mld of potable water to Davao City is being implemented by the J.V. Angeles Construction Corporation. The project involves the construction of a bulk water treatment facility and a conveyance system for supplying treated bulk water to numerous DCWD delivery points. It is slated to be the country’s first bulk water system with a water treatment facility fully powered by renewable energy. Also, the government of Bohol province has signed a memorandum of cooperation with USAID for the Bohol water and sanitation project. The project, to be undertaken on a PPP basis, prioritises development of a sustainable bulk water supply system and adequate sanitation facilities to meet the present and future demands for domestic use, tourism, and commercial, industrial, and agricultural growth.

Projects in the pipeline

One of the major projects currently in the pipeline is the Bulacan bulk water supply project. The PhP 24.4 billion project will be developed over three phases and will supply approximately 230 mld of treated bulk water to 22 water districts in Bulacan district.  For this purpose, the MWSS will make available 5.5 cubic metres of water per second from the Angat reservoir. The project involves several components, including the construction of an interconnection structure to the MWSS’s existing Bigte–Novaliches raw water conveyance system to source water for the first phase. Other works include construction of WTPs, treated water reservoirs and pumping stations, and installation of flow metering devices and appropriate pressure monitoring stations. The MWSS and the Public–Private Partnership Centre of the Philippines are implementing the project on a build–operate–transfer basis with a concession period of 30 years. Pre-qualification bids for the projects have been invited and contracts are likely to be awarded in the first half of 2015. The project is expected to be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The way forward

The spate of projects in the bulk water supply segment indicates that the Philippines government is focused on improving services in the water supply sector. Projects are being implemented to cater to the drinking water requirements of the population in the long term. The Bulacan bulk water supply project is expected to fulfil the drinking water requirements of the citizens up to 2030. Such projects will also reduce the use of deep wells, which have reportedly led to severe groundwater depletion and contamination in many regions of the country. The implementation of local-level PPPs in this regard may encourage a system of coordinated planning between private and public agencies.