West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) is allocating over Php686 million to convert the sludge lagoons inside La Mesa Compound into an impounding reservoir for the raw water flowing in from the Angat-Ipo Dam system, effectively increasing the company’s water storage capacity.
Maynilad is repurposing the four existing sludge lagoons at La Mesa Compound in Quezon City—which used to serve as a disposal site for the sludge produced by the water treatment process—into a 6-meter-deep reservoir that can store around 200 million liters (ML) of raw water supply.
By converting the lagoons into a reservoir, Maynilad’s La Mesa Treatment Plant 1 will have a 200-ML additional raw water reserve that can augment supply whenever water inflows from the Angat-Ipo Dam system via the Novaliches/La Mesa Portal goes down due to lack of rains or reduced allocations.
“Since our La Mesa Treatment Plant rehabilitation program already included the construction of new sludge treatment facilities, the existing sludge lagoons could be put to better use as a storage site for raw water,” explained Water Supply Operations head, Engr. Ronaldo C. Padua. “By repurposing the lagoons, we can maximize the value of the site and help address our need for increased water storage.”
Targeted for completion by the fourth quarter of 2025, this 200-ML raw water reservoir would be Maynilad’s only reservoir for raw water, as all of its 38 existing reservoirs are only for treated water. Besides providing additional water storage, this new facility can serve as settlement basin, allowing for particles in the raw water to settle by gravity so that the water supply entering the treatment plant is less turbid. This will make the treatment process easier, especially during the rainy season when instances of high turbidity in the raw water supply become more frequent.
“This reservoir will not only increase our water storage capacity but also help us sustain water service even during challenging periods of high turbidity and reduced water inflows from Angat and Ipo Dams. This will greatly help in our effort to provide reliable water supply for our customers,” said Maynilad Chief Operating Officer Randolph T. Estrellado.
Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base. It is a concessionaire of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, which is composed of the cities of Manila (certain portions), Quezon City (certain portions), Makati (west of South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon all in Metro Manila; the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite Province.
