Manila: Metro Pacific Iloilo Water Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW) is assuring its clients of its readiness in light of the forecasted El Ni±o phenomenon. MPIW chief operating officer Angelo David Berba, in a media forum on Wednesday, said they have assessed every possible supply scenario and prepared an appropriate response.
According to Philippines News Agency, Berba stated, "The medium to high impact of El Ni±o would come during the latter part of this year, that's the forecast. Again, we are ready and prepared as early as May to mitigate the impact of El Ni±o. We have several programs in place, we have projects to recover lost water, approximately 10 million liters per day."
He further explained that in the worst-case scenario, the effect would only be water scheduling, and the most-affected areas would be certain parts of Iloilo City where they maintain around 30,000 individual connections. Despite this, Berba assured that their bulk water supply coordination has been completed, static tanks have been deployed, disinfected, and undergone valving simulations.
To supplement the piped supply, more than 20 water tankers have been deployed across service areas, and there is a 24-hour monitoring of supply schedules by their engineering teams. To enhance the water supply, modular desalination units have been deployed in two sites in Iloilo City.
The seawater reverse osmosis system is already on site in Barangay Nabitasan in La Paz, while the brackish water reverse osmosis unit is being installed at Ateneo de Iloilo. Berba noted, "The modular desalination facilities are under active construction. Once online, they will deliver an additional two million liters (MLD) of treated water per day directly to Iloilo households."
The water utility is also focusing on completing key pipeline projects through 2026 and 2027, which are expected to recover 10MLD of water supply. Their aggressive infrastructure program, valued at around PHP5 billion, encompasses roughly 50 projects and 142 kilometers of pipeline.
Under normal conditions, MPIW produces an average of 80.64 MLD from its combined sources. As of 12 p.m. on Tuesday, the supply level remains within the normal operating range at 80.76 MLD. MPIW serves approximately 52,000 individual connections from Iloilo City and seven neighboring municipalities.
