Access to Water
By the end of 2018, Maynilad posted a total of 1,407,503 accounts or about 9.5 million people in its customer base. Since 2019, there have been unexplained daily service interruptions that have been penalized by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO).
The MWSS last September 2022 slapped Maynilad with a P9.264-million fine for "unusual and prolonged" service interruptions experienced by customers from May to July 2022. The MWSS also penalized Maynilad in February 2022 for unusual and prolonged service interruptions within the Putatan Water Treatment Plant supply zone, equivalent to a rebate of P323 in the April bill.[14]
Water Losses
When Maynilad was re-privatized in 2007, the company was losing some 1,500 million liters of treated water per day.[15] This translated to a Non-revenue water (NRW) level of 67%[16]—meaning two-thirds of the potable water it was producing was being lost.
Most of the water—some 75%[15] —was lost through the old and inefficient distribution system Maynilad inherited from the government and its previous owners. In fact, the company's pipe network is considered the oldest in Asia,[15] some dating back to the time when the Philippines was still under the Spanish rule.[17]
While a massive pipe replacement program would have dramatically reduced its NRW in a short amount of time, Maynilad decided against it because it would ultimately result in significantly higher tariffs for its customers.[18] Instead, it invested in its human resources, technical equipment, engineering methodologies and internal procedures so it could serve more people through less water losses.[15]
After launching what was dubbed as the "largest NRW management project in the world",[19] Maynilad has successfully brought down its NRW level to an all-time low of 27% by the end of 2018.[17]
In 2017, Maynilad plugged a total of 26,792 pipe leaks within its concessionaire area thus bringing the company's total leak repairs to 316,757 since its re-privatization in 2007.[20]
Maynilad's water loss reduction efforts have been recognized by various organizations including the International Water Association and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat).[15]
Wastewater Management
Aside from water services, Maynilad also manages wastewater in the West Zone in the form of sewerage and sanitation services.[21]
Sewerage services involve the treatment of wastewater conveyed via a sewer network[22] to Maynilad's sewage treatment plants. At present, only residents and establishments in Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa, Magallanes Village in Makati, portions of Manila, Malabon, and Navotas, Project 7 and Project 8 in Quezon City, and portions of South Caloocan may connect to Maynilad's sewerage system.[23]
Meanwhile, Maynilad offers sanitation services or septic tank cleaning to households that are not yet connected to its sewer system. Septic tank cleaning or desludging comes at no extra cost for residential and semi-business account holders, and is conducted every five to seven years.[24]
