To fortify water supplies against dry season shortages, Maynilad Water Services, Inc. has officially commenced the partial operations of its very first dedicated raw water reservoir in Manila, the company announced on Tuesday.
The initial phase of the project utilizes a repurposed lagoon located at the La Mesa Water Treatment Plant in Quezon City. Currently, the converted facility allows the water concessionaire to store up to 67 million liters of raw water.
According to Maynilad, this new infrastructure is designed to stabilize the supply buffer for the capital’s West Zone, especially when water inflows from the Angat–Ipo Dam system decline due to low rainfall.
Scheduled for full completion by June 2026, the development involves transforming former sludge lagoons into a massive, six-meter-deep impounding reservoir. Once fully operational, its total storage capacity will expand to 200 million liters of raw water.
Beyond mitigating dry-season supply dips, the facility is engineered to function as a settling basin during periods of elevated turbidity. This will allow suspended mud and sediment particles to settle naturally before the water undergoes formal purification processes.
“This facility enhances our ability to manage raw water variability and maintain stable treatment operations, particularly during periods of lower inflow or higher turbidity,” said Maynilad Chief Operating Officer Christopher Jaime T. Lichauco.
The newly launched facility marks Maynilad’s first-ever reservoir dedicated strictly to raw water, complementing its existing network of 38 treated-water reservoirs.
As a concessionaire of the government’s Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), Maynilad manages the largest water concession by population in the Philippines, providing water and wastewater services to the West Zone of Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces.