Maynilad Water Services Inc., the utility that distributes water in the west zone of Metro Manila, is investing P7 billion to upgrade its La Mesa Water Treatment Plants 1 and 2 in Quezon City.
The facilities have a combined production capacity of 2,400 million liters per day and supply potable water for some nine million customers of Maynilad.
Maynilad said it would upgrade the plants’ treatment capacity, retrofit structures for improved earthquake resiliency, and automate processes for more reliable operations.
Set for completion in 2020, the LMTP 1 and 2 improvement project will enhance the treatment technology used in the facilities to address the problem of increasing turbidity levels in raw water coming from Angat and Ipo Dams.
Maynilad is upgrading the treatment capacity of LMTP 1 and 2 from 300 NTU (nethelometric turbidity units) to 2,000 NTU.
Turbidity level refers to the sediment content in the dams’ raw water, which increases either due to soil erosion in the watersheds after heavy rains or the scraping of mineral deposits from the dams’ bottom during drought periods.
“Investment in additional treatment technologies is necessary given the dramatic shifts in raw water quality brought on by climate change. With this upgrade, water service to our customers will no longer be affected whenever turbidity level in the raw water increases,” said chief operating officer Randolph Estrellado.
Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez said the project is part of the company’s P42-billion capital expenditure plan from 2013 to 2017 that aims to improve water infrastructure and address water security challenges.
“We are pursuing our capex projects despite the delayed implementation of the tariff adjustment because we have an obligation to our customers, and that includes pursuing the projects that will sustain improved service levels for current and future water consumers,” Fernandez said.