Maynilad repurposes idle dams to bring 24-hour water to Cavite

West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. is targeting to complete this year up to 2026 three more small-scale treatment plants in Cavite province that will harness water from idle dams.

Ronaldo Padua, head of Maynilad’s water supply operations, said the first, located in Imus, would be operational by the third quarter of the year. Once completed, he said it would produce 4 million liters per day (MLD) of potable water.

The development of the second treatment plant in Bacoor City, on the other hand, will be completed by the first half of 2025.

“Hopefully, by early next year or the middle of next year, it (Bacoor plant) will be operational,” he told reporters.

Padua said Maynilad is eyeing to switch on the third treatment facility, also in Bacoor, by the end of next year or the early part of 2026. Maynilad already completed the design for this treatment plant and would soon award contracts upon securing the necessary permits, he added.

The three facilities will complement the Anabu plant in Imus, which is already operational and has been supplying 4 MLD to 8 MLD of potable water since last year.

The Imus facilities will source raw water from the Julian and Imus rivers while the other two plants in Bacoor will draw water from the Molino and Ligas dams, which are fed by the Zapote River.

Maynilad earlier unveiled plans to spend some P3.2 billion to construct four modular treatment plants in Bacoor and Imus cities with a combined water output of 47 MLD.

These facilities would meet the requirements of some 200,000 customers in the area. It would utilize ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis technology to treat raw water from nearby dams and rivers.

“Cavite is the farthest point of our concession area, so there are portions that do not yet receive 24-hour water supply,” Maynilad chief operating officer Randolph Estrellado said earlier.

“The new [facilities] will draw water from adjacent dams, and serve as a dedicated supply source that can lengthen supply availability for these underserved areas,” he added.

Environment Undersecretary Carlos Primo David said this was the outcome of a policy innovation they introduced wherein idle dams could be converted into multipurpose use, allowing companies like Maynilad to tap water for its customers.

“We learned that 70 percent of water resources nationwide are controlled by the NIA (National Irrigation Administration) for irrigation purposes only. And yet we know that six months each year, water from NIA-controlled dams is not used during the rainy season and all the farms are rain-fed, and all that water goes to waste,” he said. —JORDEENE B. LAGARE INQ