Maynilad allots P1.4B to upgrade Putatan treatment plants 

West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. is spending a billion pesos to upgrade its water treatment plants in Muntinlupa City.

In a statement, Maynilad said it has earmarked P1.14 billion to further improve the treatment processes of its Putatan Water Treatment Plants (PWTP) 1 and 2 “in response to the worsening quality of the raw water from Laguna Lake.”

The company said the upgrades include the material and structural reinforcement of the facilities’ existing silt curtain, strengthening of the sludge management system, provision of activated carbon dosing at the intake, and replacement of all ultrafiltration membranes, among other enhancements.

The PWTP upgrades, which Maynilad said it has been implementing in phases, enabled the company to sustain normal water production since June 2023 despite sudden shifts in the water quality.

This led to improved service availability for Maynilad customers in the south versus the previous year, when the water production of PWTP 1 and 2 would immediately drop following spikes in total dissolved solids, algae proliferation, and the presence of organic and inorganic matter in the lake water, the company said.

“We have had to incorporate additional treatment processes at Putatan WTP to handle some quality parameters of Laguna Lake that now occur at levels not seen from recorded prior ten-year experience. This investment is essential so we can continue to maximize the lake’s strategic value as a water source for Metro Manila,” said Maynilad chief operating officer Randolph Estrellado.

Estrellado added that the PWTP improvements being done were aligned with the recommendations of the Public Utility Board (PUB), the national water agency of Singapore, which was invited to the country by MWSS Administrator Leonor Cleofas to assess the said facilities and share their expertise with Maynilad.

Maynilad said its PWTP 1 and 2—the largest membrane-based water treatment plants in the Philippines—are the first to utilize Laguna Lake as an alternate source to Angat Dam.

The company added that it is currently constructing another 150-million-liter per-day treatment plant in Poblacion, Muntinlupa City, which will be its third facility to tap Laguna Lake as a source.

These three WTPs are a vital part of Maynilad’s plan to develop alternative sources of water to enhance service reliability for its customers and promote water security, it said.

Maynilad is the concessionaire of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, composed of the cities of Manila (certain portions), Quezon City (certain portions), Makati (west of the South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, and Malabon, all in Metro Manila; the cities of Cavite, Bacoor, and Imus; and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario, all in Cavite province. —VBL, GMA Integrated News