VIA GRAPHIC PLUS — West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) has undertaken nearly ₱10 billion worth of rehabilitation and improvement works at its La Mesa facilities over several years, covering completed and ongoing projects that strengthen its ability to manage changing raw water conditions as it prepares for potentially drier conditions ahead.
The major rehabilitation and improvement works cover treatment improvements, enhanced water recovery and raw water augmentation systems, additional raw water storage, and related facility upgrades. The nearly ₱10-billion amount covers completed and ongoing works.
Among the key improvements is the upgrading of La Mesa Water Treatment Plant 1 (LMTP1) from an original raw water turbidity design capability of around 300 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) to a peak design capability of 2,000 NTU. Similar improvement works are ongoing at LMTP2 to raise its treatment capability to the same level.
The enhancements significantly expand the range of raw water conditions that the facilities can manage. The Angat-Ipo system has experienced episodes of substantially higher turbidity over the years, including levels reaching around 1,800 NTU in 2012.
Maynilad has also enhanced its water recovery and raw water augmentation systems. Once all three systems are fully operational, they are designed to provide a combined recovery and augmentation capacity of approximately 125–170 million liters per day (MLD). Recovery Systems 1 and 3 are already operational, while Recovery System 2 is targeted for completion in December 2026.
Another key component is the conversion of former sludge lagoons into dedicated raw water reservoirs. Lagoons 3 and 4 currently provide approximately 133 million liters of storage, equivalent to about two-thirds of the planned 200-million-liter total capacity.
The reservoirs provide an additional operating buffer during periods of reduced Angat-Ipo inflow or adjustments in raw water allocation, giving Maynilad greater flexibility in managing available raw water during dry periods.
The La Mesa treatment plants have a combined design capacity of 2,400 MLD. LMTP1 has a design capacity of 1,500 MLD, while LMTP2 has a design capacity of 900 MLD.
Maynilad’s continuing rehabilitation and process improvements at La Mesa include enhancements to sedimentation, filtration, sludge management, monitoring and control systems, as well as the replacement of aging equipment and other facility improvements.
“We continue to invest in La Mesa because water supply resilience depends not only on how much raw water is available, but also on how efficiently we can treat, recover and manage the water already within our system,” said Maynilad Chief Operating Officer Christopher Jaime T. Lichauco.
“These improvements give us additional operating flexibility as raw water conditions change and support our continuing preparations for potentially drier conditions associated with El Niño,” he added.
The La Mesa improvements support Maynilad’s broader water supply resilience strategy, alongside the development of alternative sources, continued reduction of non-revenue water, additional storage, and improvements to its distribution network.
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