QUEZON CITY, Philippines — West zone water concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. announced major facility upgrades at its La Mesa treatment complex on Tuesday, October 27, as part of a nearly ₱10-billion investment designed to elevate water quality and reinforce supply reliability against looming El Niño threats.
Maynilad Water Supply Operations head Ronaldo Padua explained that these infrastructural enhancements are the culmination of over half a decade of strategic planning stemming from the 2019 weak El Niño episode.
“‘Yong preparations for El Niño ngayon did not happen overnight. It took more than five years para makapag-prepare kami dito,” Padua stated, adding, “Lahat po ‘yon ay in preparation for current and future El Niño.”
Key upgrades feature improvements at La Mesa Treatment Plant 1 (LMTP 1), which has successfully expanded its capacity to process raw water turbidity spikes of up to 2,000 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU)—a massive leap from its previous 300 NTU limit.
Parallel upgrade works for LMTP 2 are currently in the pipeline to match this higher threshold.
Furthermore, Maynilad has launched a state-of-the-art sludge treatment facility to process semi-solid residuals from water operations. This innovation allowed former sludge lagoons to be successfully repurposed into raw-water storage reservoirs, providing critical alternative supply during unexpected distribution hiccups from the Angat-Ipo system.
Auxiliary backup generators have also been installed across treatment plants to guarantee uninterrupted operations during potential power failures.
While facility overhauls progress—with Recovery Systems 1 and 3 fully functional and Recovery System 2 slated for completion by late 2026—Padua emphasized that consumer cooperation remains equally vital.
“Pakiusap lang po namin at panawagan sa aming mga customers na magkaroon po ng tinatawag na responsible use of water because while us, concessionaires, are doing infrastructure sa supply side, malaking tulong pa rin sa demand side kung magiging responsible po sa pag-consume ng tubig,” he urged.
Reaffirming the company’s ultimate objective amidst prolonged dry spells, Padua noted, “Ang goal pa rin namin ay huwag magkaroon ng [water] interruptions.”