MAYNILAD Water Services and Manila Water Co. have already begun preparations and planning for the Super El Niño, with projects on supply augmentation and maximizing water facilities under way, an official said on Monday.
At a Senate hearing, Patrick Lester N. Ty, chief regulator at Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, told Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel that Manila Water began preparing for the El Niño in 2022.
Facilities like the East Bay Phase 1, water treatment plant that has a capacity of 50 million liters per day and the Marikina Portable Treatment Plant with a capacity of 15 million liters per day were constructed to augment water supplies, Mr. Ty said.
He added that Manila Water also plans to maximize existing facilities like the Cardona Water Treatment Plant, which sources water from Laguna Lake and the Calawis Treatment Plant, which retrieves water from the Upper Wawa Dam.
“The same approach is being undertaken by Maynilad,” Mr. Ty said.
Mr. Ty emphasized that the water concessionaires’ objective is “resilience.” He said water security is also about managing the water already available, but they are also looking at options in case existing supplies are insufficient.
This includes maintaining emergency resources such as mobile water tankers and static water tanks as well as rain catchers and additional reservoir capacities. — Francessca S. Abalos