Maynilad steps up efforts to reduce water losses

Maynilad Water Services Inc. is set to spend P2.2 billion this year to further pare down water losses brought about mainly by illegal connections and leaking pipes.

This means a 10-percent increase over Maynilad’s 2013 capital expenditures devoted to its non-revenue water (NRW) reduction program.

The company said about 80 percent of its water losses were due to leaks and illegal connections. The rest was due to inaccurate metering.

Of this year’s NRW reduction funds, P1.4 billion is earmarked for pipe replacement projects in portions of Manila, Caloocan, Malabon, Valenzuela, Parañaque, Las Piñas and Cavite.

Another portion, or P665 million, is meant for Maynilad’s meter management projects, establishment of smaller district metered areas, leak repairs and diagnostic activities.

The remainder of the amount is intended for expenses related to leak-detection equipment and technical services.

The funds are part of an P18-billion capex program for 2014, the bulk of which is meant for wastewater management projects.

This is so far the biggest capex the company has set since securing in 1997 the concession for water services in Metro Manila’s west zone.

Maynilad spent P2 billion in 2013 to cut water systems losses to 35 percent of total output from 43 percent in 2012.

According to the company, last year’s program for managing NRW enabled Maynilad to save 140 million liters of water daily, enough to provide 140,000 customers their daily supply needs.

“We still need to invest in our NRW reduction program because we have yet to reach our economically optimal NRW level,” Maynilad president and chief executive Ricky P. Vargas said in a statement.

Vargas said such level could be achieved once the marginal cost of reducing NRW exceeded the value of water savings.

He said that based on its current water demand, water supply and cost of recovering water losses, Maynilad was projecting its optimum NRW level at 20 percent of total water produced.