The Philippines is facing an enormous challenge in the water supply and sanitation sector. According to industry estimates, the Philippines is considered to be the fourth most vulnerable country to climate change and its adverse effects on water security. Manila Water Company, Inc. is a publicly listed company with extensive experience in the Philippines’ water sector. It provides water supply, wastewater and sanitation services to over 7.4 million consumers in 23 cities and municipalities of the east zone of Metro Manila and Rizal province.
Issues and challenges
Metro Manila and other provinces in the Philippines have faced many issues with water supply management. However, the most critical one has been non-revenue water (NRW), which has caused huge water losses from the system due to reasons like pilferage and leaks. The major challenges associated with NRW included high network losses and inefficiencies, organisational constraints, and lack of customer and community support. According to a feasibility study conducted by the Asian Development Bank, the water loss was around 60 per cent and, as per the estimates of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System of the Philippines, this included around 29 per cent of water loss due to leakages, 15 per cent due to pilferage, 9 per cent due to errors in the metering systems and 7 per cent due to other reasons.
Efforts of Manila Water Company
In the last 25 years, the Manila Water Company has been working with the government to transform the water distribution system. From a supply network covering only 26 per cent of the consumers in Metro Manila, the Manila Water Company has now achieved 100 per cent coverage of water supply. It has also managed to bring down NRW in Metro Manila from 63 per cent to around 13 per cent. This has helped in increasing service coverage in the provinces, without any additional water source. The company has laid over 7,000 km of water pipeline network in the provinces.
In January 2022, the Government of the Philippines signed the laws granting new franchises for water concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad, allowing the two firms to continue to operate for another 25 years in Metro Manila and its nearby provinces. The two concessionaires will establish, manage, operate, repair, rehabilitate, expand and improve the waterworks and sewerage systems in their respective franchise areas, generate bills and collect fees from end-users for the services.
As of June 2022, the company has expanded its service coverage to a total of 1,132,976 water service connections. Of this, 95 per cent of the connections are for domestic consumption while only 5 per cent are for commercial and industrial customers. In the last 10 years, Manila Water Company has increased its service connections by over 21 per cent in the east zone of Metro Manila. The company is committed to upgrading the existing system and constructing new facilities to ensure continuity in the east zone of the province. Manila Water Company is also constructing a water treatment plant (WTP) in East Bay, which will draw water from the eastern part of Laguna Lake. It entails an estimated investment of around PhP 2.7 billion. The WTP is a part of the East Bay water supply system project that seeks to expand Manila Water Company’s services to more towns in Rizal province. The WTP includes a reservoir having a capacity of 8 million litres per day (mld), an intake structure and a pumping station.
Apart from laying and installing water mains, Manila Water Company also continues to expand its sewer network for wastewater treatment using 41 sewage treatment plants. As of March 2022, the total length of sewer pipes laid was over 440 km. These lines ensure that wastewater coming from households and other residential establishments is passed through this sewer network for treatment so that it is returned safely to waterbodies without polluting them. The company’s wastewater treatment capacity has increased from 40 mld at the start of the operations to 410 mld by August 2022.
Metro Manila Company is also investing in digital initiatives in the water and wastewater sector. It is ensuring improved pressure and flow management, using pressure-reducing valves (PRV), PRV controllers, pressure loggers and smart meters. It is also using remote monitoring and control in the water distribution network.The company is also performing real-time monitoring with analytics of facilities and network operations with the help of an operations monitoring and control centre and mobile devices. Further, as part of the national clean-up month, being observed in September 2022, Manila Water Company has pledged to undertake clean-up activities in different parts of Metro Manila. Recently, together with volunteers from the public and private sectors, it managed to haul a total of 3,500 sacks of garbage from the Manila Bay coastline. Protection of waterbodies is one of the company’s key initiatives to promote proper management of wastewater and revive rivers and waterways.
Future outlook
The Philippines government is working towards ensuring the same quality of service to all its citizens. This means continuous investment in water security and service delivery projects, such as building new WTPs and upgrading the distribution system. According to the Philippines government’s estimates, a total investment of more than PhP 1 trillion from 2020 to 2030 is required to achieve the country’s water supply and sanitation targets and ensure wider access to safe, sufficient, affordable, and sustainable water supply and sanitation. The government along with Manila Water Company is ensuring water quality in all WTPs and making sure that the distribution lines are compliant with the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water.
With inputs from a presentation by Rey Ann C. Dela Cruz, Water System Operations Head, Manila Water Company, Inc.
