MAYNILAD Water Services, Inc. is setting aside at least P3 billion to upgrade 17 of its existing 22 sewage treatment plants (STPs) by 2027 to conform to water and wastewater quality guidelines.
In an e-mailed media release, the west zone water concessionaire said it would add treatment processes “to enhance nutrient-removal capability” that will meet the revised effluent standards set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Under a department administrative order (DAO) released in 2021, the DENR updated the water quality guidelines for selected parameters based on the current classification of water bodies and their beneficial use.
Effluent standards have also been updated for selected parameters based on the perceived impact on the activities in the area and on the environment.
“By 2027, all 22 existing wastewater treatment plants in the West Zone — which have a combined treatment capacity of around 684,707 cubic meters of wastewater per day — will be upgraded to conform to DAO 2021-19 standards,” the company said.
Maynilad said its Parañaque water reclamation facility — currently its biggest STP in terms of volume output — is already compliant with DAO 2021-19 standards.
The new STPs that the company plans to construct will already have the upgrades factored in their treatment capacity design, it said.
Maynilad said the investment is part of its P178-billion wastewater management spending plan from 2023 to 2046, which aims to expand sewer coverage and manage pollution loading in bodies of water.
The plan also includes the construction of 18 new STPs in different areas and the installation of around 360 kilometers of new sewer lines that will carry used water from households to STPs.
The company maintains and operates 20 STPs, two joint sewage and septage treatment plants, and one septage treatment plant that processes wastewater and sludge collected from customers before it is discharged to receiving bodies of water.
Maynilad serves Manila, except for portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana, and operates in Quezon City, Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, and Malabon. It also supplies the cities of Cavite, Bacoor, and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario, all in Cavite province.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has a majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
