Maynilad Water Services Inc. on Tuesday announced having recovered an accumulated 560,000 cubic meters of treated water previously lost to illegal connections.
Maynilad said the recovery was made following an eight-month pursuit of unauthorized water connections, tampered meters and unregistered lines across its service area. The program severed 6,900 illegal water connections from January to August this year.
The accumulated volume of water recovered is enough to meet the daily needs of around 3,500 water service connections and improved water supply availability and pressure for legitimately paying customers.
The initiative also generated P62 million in revenue as violators were required to pay penalties and connect legally to the Maynilad water network.
Maynilad successfully closed some 25,000 illegal water service connections it conducted since 2016 in cooperation with local government units.
“Our efforts to crack down on illegal water connections not only prevents the possible entry of contaminants in the system but also ensure that all customers receive their fair share of water supply,” said Christopher Lichauco, Maynilad customer experience and retail operations head.
The closure of illegal connections also form part of Maynilad’s non-revenue water (NRW) management program which aims to bring down physical and commercial losses.
Maynilad said around 92 percent of water losses in its franchise are due to physical losses or from pipe leaks. The remaining eight percent are due to commercial losses or from water theft and from unregistered consumption.
Maynilad, the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines, serves the cities of Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, Malabon, Cavite, Bacoor and Imus and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario in Cavite Province.
