AYALA-LED MANILA WATER CO. INC. SAID it had significantly lowered the systems loss in its east zone concession area to 15 percent as of the end of 2009, from a high of 63 percent when it started operations in 1997.

Systems loss refers to water lost due to leaks and illegal connections.

?The high efficiency gained from the sustained and comprehensive systems-loss reduction program has enabled the company to now cushion the impact of the lingering El Niño (dryspell) on its six million customers,? said corporate communications head Jeric T. Sevilla.

The water saved from Manila Water?s systems loss reduction program had been re-distributed to the farthest and highest locations in the company?s service area, including the mountain city of Antipolo and Binangonan.

?The company continues to further bring these losses down as it intensifies its leak repair program in the wake of the El Niño,? he added. ?We are also closely coordinating with local government units to protect the company?s more than 2,600 fire hydrants as we are now in the fire prevention month,? Sevilla said.

He said that with the 15-percent systems loss level, Manila Water ranks much better than its counterparts in Asia and even in some first world countries which registered water loss of 20 to 30 percent.

Over the past 12 years, Manila Water embarked on an integrated approach to cutting down systems loss.

In 1997, Manila Water said it inherited decades-old water network and system from Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), which then supplied water to 3.7 million residents in eastern Metro Manila. Riza T. Olchondra