Metro Pacific: Bulacan bulk water supply improving
Metro Pacific Bulacan Water (MPBW) has restored water production at a San Jose del Monte treatment plant to its 30-million-liter-per-day (MLD) design capacity as it works to rehabilitate the city’s water system.
MPBW, the interim operator of the system since June, said Water Treatment Plant 2 (WTP2) recovered an additional 10 MLD after the company had completed cleaning its raw water tank on Aug. 7.
The additional capacity was fully restored the following day.
The treated water output of the plant had fallen to about 20 MLD due to accumulated sludge and maintenance issues.
MPBW said the recovered capacity could supply about 10,000 households in several higher-elevation communities in San Jose del Monte.
WTP2 was designed to produce 30 MLD, although it has been operated at levels reaching 40 MLD.
“This is an important improvement, but it also shows the scale of the work ahead of us,” MPBW chief operating officer Roldan Pineda said.
Pineda said years of stop-gap measures and deferred maintenance caused such state of water system inherited by MPBW.
The company said the raw water tank was last cleaned in December 2024, even though facilities of its type are recommended to undergo cleaning at least twice a year.
MPBW is also addressing treatment constraints arising from high turbidity and manganese levels in raw water from Angat Dam.
The existing plants were not originally designed to handle these conditions at current levels, requiring additional treatment and operational adjustments.
Despite the additional supply, the company warned that some higher-elevation areas could still experience low water pressure or intermittent supply as available water remains insufficient to meet overall demand.
Meanwhile, MPBW has repaired more than 400 pipeline leaks in nine weeks to curb water losses.
It is also advancing the Phase I Tanawin Reservoir-to-Igay Reservoir Transmission Project, which is targeted for completion by December.
