Maynilad boosts wastewater infra network

Maynilad Water Services Inc. has rolled out a fleet of 19 vacuum truck units acquired through a package of at least P179 million, to help boost the company’s septage collection operations and expand coverage of such services.

With each unit able to hold 10 cubic meters of septage, the entire fleet can clean about 190 septic tanks a day.

The concessionaire of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Systems’ west zone expects the new trucks to rev up delivery of sanitation services to customers that are not yet connected to Maynilad’s sewer network.

“The purchase of these trucks will help Maynilad accomplish its sanitation targets, which we strive to meet despite the restrictions brought on by the pandemic,” Maynilad chief operating officer Randolph Estrellado said in a statement.

“We are appealing to our customers to have their septic tanks desludged because not doing so will result in serious environmental, health and safety risks to their family and community,” Estrellado added.

So far, Maynilad’s wastewater infrastructure network includes 19 sewage treatment plants, two joint sewage and septage treatment plants, and one septage treatment plant.

This portfolio represents an aggregate treatment capacity of about 664,000 cubic meters of wastewater daily.

In 2019 alone, Maynilad cleaned more than 147,900 septic tanks and treated about 233 million liters of septage.

The by-product from septage treatment is transported to a processing plant, where the material is converted to organic fertilizer. —Ronnel W. Domingo