Strong winds cause changes in water quality, says Maynilad

Several areas in the south of Manila experience water service interruption due to strong winds caused by the Northeast Monsoon or amihan, according to an official from Maynilad.

Greg Antonio, Maynilad Water Production head, explained that the raw water quality changes during Amihan season.

"Pag Amihan season po ang direksyon ng hangin ay direktang papunta sa extraction ng mga planta natin. Yun silts and sediments po na naka deposit sa Laguna Lake dahil nga mababaw na sya, yung malakas na bugso ng hangin pinapaalon niya yung lawa kaya ang nangyayari nabubulabog yung ilalim ng lawa natin," Antonio said.

 (During the Amihan season, the wind direction moves directly towards the extraction of our plants. The silts and sediments that are deposited in Laguna Lake - because it is already shallow - the strong gusts of wind cause the lake to swell, which is what happens when the bottom of our lake is disturbed.)

Maynilad assures the company is working round to clock in terms of water quality monitoring and to bring back water supply to normal level as soon as possible.

"Pinakaimportante sa lahat yung turbidity o yung labo ng tubig, mino-monitor natin oras oras. Kapag nakita natin nasa manageable level na siya pwede na tayo mag taas ng production," he said.

(The most important thing is the turbidity of the water, we monitor it every hour. When we see that it is at a manageable level, we can increase production.)

"Sa ngayon kasi dahil sa bugso ng hangin kailangan bagalan ang produksyon dahil kung hindi makokompromiso din ang safety ng planta pangalawa ayaw na rin na ikompromiso ang kalidad ng tubig na dinidistribute natin sa ating mga customers," he added.

(Right now, due to the gusty winds, production needs to be slowed down because if it doesn't, the safety of the plant will be compromised. Secondly, we don't want to compromise the quality of the water we distribute to our customers.)

Maynilad apologized for any convenience that affected customers may experience.

"Humihingi kami ng paumanhin dahil sa mga inconvenience na nangyayari at asahan niyo tuloy-tuloy ang aming pag uupgrade ng mga planta para siguraduhin natin na itong mga seasonal changes na ito ay kaya natin umagapay at masigurado na hindi maiinterrupt ang supply at laging malinis ang ididistribute na tubig ng Maynilad," Antonio said.

(We apologize for the inconvenience and expect our plants to continue to be upgraded to ensure that we can cope with these seasonal changes and help ensure that the supply will not be interrupted and that the water distributed by Maynilad is always clean.) — BAP, GMA Integrated News