Complaints over water service in San Jose del Monte have significantly declined as Metro Pacific Bulacan Water (MPBW) increased daily water production and completed more than 600 pipeline repairs in less than three months, the city government said Wednesday.
During a Water Forum on Aug. 26, MPBW reported that the city’s average daily water production reached 135.19 million liters per day (MLD) in August, a 10.5% increase from the 122.36 MLD recorded under previous operator PrimeWater.
The water concessionaire has also repaired more than 600 of the 890 verified pipeline leaks inherited from the previous operator, part of efforts to reduce water losses and improve supply reliability.
The operational improvements were reflected in the number of customer complaints received by MPBW.
At the height of the water service problems in July, the company received as many as 12 to 14 chats per minute, equivalent to about 17,280 to 20,160 chats in a 24-hour period.
The volume has since dropped to around three to four chats every two minutes, or approximately 2,160 to 2,880 chats per day.
MPBW said legitimate concerns and follow-ups now generally account for only one to two chats every two minutes.
City Administrator Atty. Zaldy Mendoza said the decline was an indication that the interventions were beginning to address the city’s water problems.
“The declining number of complaints is encouraging because it shows that our interventions are beginning to make a difference,” Mendoza said.
“But we know there is still much work to do. Our focus remains on providing reliable water service to every San Joseño,” he added.
The increase in water production was attributed to rehabilitation and corrective maintenance of existing facilities, including the replacement and upgrading of motor pumps and other equipment.
Combined production at Water Treatment Plants 1 and 2 increased from 40 MLD to 55 MLD.
MPBW also reactivated three deep wells in Francisco Homes—Guijo, Yakal and Kaypian—and identified 15 locations for static water tanks to augment supply in areas experiencing shortages.
“We know that there is still a long way to go, and we share the sentiments of San Joseños who continue to experience weak or intermittent supply,” Mayor Florida “Ate Rida” Robes said.
“What is important is that now we are beginning to see the results of the work being done across the city’s water system. We will continue to closely monitor the rehabilitation and make sure the work continues until more families feel the improvement in their daily water service,” she added.
MPBW President and CEO Andrew B. Pangilinan said the gains recorded in less than three months showed progress in restoring the city’s water production capacity.
“The progress we have achieved in less than three months reflects our commitment to restore capacity and improve the reliability of the city’s water system,” Pangilinan said.
“We are producing more water and reducing losses, but there is still significant work ahead,” he added.
Pangilinan said the company would continue rehabilitating aging facilities and developing alternative water sources to meet the growing requirements of San Jose del Monte.
Despite the improvements, MPBW continues to deploy water tankers to areas at higher elevations where supply remains limited.
The company deploys up to 22 water tankers during peak demand, making as many as 110 trips daily and delivering up to 770 cubic meters of water per day.
These supplement 16 water trucks deployed by the city government.
MPBW has also started major pipelaying works from the Tanawin Water Reservoirs to Igay Road in Barangay Sto. Cristo.
The project is expected to generate an additional 15 MLD of treated water and improve service reliability for about 15,000 households in upland barangays and nearby areas.
Another 960-meter pipeline project is being prepared in Minuyan Proper to improve water supply in the Sapang Palay area and parts of United Minuyan.
The city government said the developments mark a shift from emergency response to sustained rehabilitation of San Jose del Monte’s water system with efforts focused on increasing supply, reducing losses and improving service reliability.#