MWC system loss at record low

MANILA Water Company Inc. said in a statement on Thursday that it has brought down its system loss or non-revenue water (NRW) to a record low of 11 percent at the end of 2011 from the 63 percent when it took over the East Zone concession in 1997.

The NRW level of 11 percent is “unprecedented” in the Philippines’ water industry, the Ayala-led company said.

Manila Water said the high system loss in eastern Metro Manila in 1997 could be attributed to leaking pipes, proliferation of illegal connections and defective under-registering water meters.

The company said it went on an aggressive system loss reduction program, combining technical and engineering solutions with social interventions to address water theft, because there was no new water source other than Angat, which provides 97 percent of the water supply in the whole Metro Manila.

“We had to employ a multi-pronged approach to curb the high level of water losses when we took over in 1997,” said Orlando Villareal, Manila Water’s Head of Water Network Technical Support Services.

“It was a mix of technical interventions utilizing supply and pressure management, active leakage control, meter maintenance and replacement, management of district metering areas, holistic pipe replacement and rehabilitation. The system we inherited was already very old and leaking,” he said.

Along with engineering innovations to address the leaks, Manila Water said it addressed illegal connections, which took up a sizeable portion of the losses.

The water services provider launched its flagship program in 1998 called Tubig Para Sa Barangay (TPSB) or Water for the Poor program designed to make piped water available to low-income communities and informal settlements where illegal connections were then very rampant.

Prevelyn Gazmen, Manila Water’s customer and stakeholder manager, said “We had to work with local governments and communities and conduct dialogues with neighborhood associations and discuss with them the advantages of having regular –and legal– connections with us. Foremost of which is to ensure the quality of water. Illegal tappings have been a source of water contamination in the system.”