On the Water Trail
How water is delivered to your faucet
by Karen B. Bitagun
In August 1997, the Manila Water Company took over the operation of the water supply and distribution system in the east zone of Metro Manila under a concession agreement with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System. Manila Water now produces, treats, and supplies water, as well as treats sewage, for some five million people in the cities of Makati, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Pasig, most parts of Quezon City, some parts of Manila, and in the municipalities of San Juan, Taguig, and Pateros. Also covered by Manila Water, a subsidiary of Ayala Corporation, are the cities and municipalities of Rizal province.
In just nine years, Manila Water’s operating efficiency and unparalleled commitment to provide improved water and wastewater services to its customers have brought them recognition not just in the Philippines but also in Asia.
Manila Water recently showed Philippine Business the critical water treatment and distribution process, starting from the Angat Dam, Manila Water’s primary water source, all the way to the taps in our homes, and then on to the sewage treatment phase.
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Surface water is sourced from the Angat Dam in Bulacan, which supplies 97.1% of Metro Manila’s water needs at the rate of 46 cubic meters per second. The raw water is then piped to the La Mesa Dam in Quezon City. It takes four hours for the water to reach the La Mesa Dam.
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It takes another couple of hours for the raw water to reach the two filter plants in Balara, Quezon City. The Balara plants are able to filter and treat about 6.5 billion glasses of water each day. About 933 million liters per day of pure drinking water is then released to Manila Water’s eight pumping stations all over the east zone. |
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From the pumping stations, clean water is pumped through kilometers of pipelines to customers’ faucets. Manila Water laid 1,440 kilometers of new pipes from 1997 to June 2006.
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About 600 water samples are checked everyday to ensure the purity of the water distributed to Manila Water’s customers.
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From the pipelines, the water ends up in our faucets. As of June 2006, Manila Water was serving 803,000 households, or roughly more than 5 million people. |
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Presently, less than 7% of wastewater is directly connected to a wastewater treatment system. The other 93% is drained into traditional septic tanks. Manila Water offers a service to empty septic tanks through their septage vacuum tankers. |
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At Manila Water’s sewage treatment plants, after the wastewater is treated, the clean water is discharged, while the sludge is used as a soil conditioner. |
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