The Manila Water Services (Maynilad) on Friday assured the general public that the yellowish water coming out of the faucets in some of its service areas this week was “not harmful.”
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) advised the public to let the water flow from faucets for a some time if it remained yellowish and refrain from drinking the affected water.
According to the water service franchisee, the discoloration was due to an increase in manganese in the raw water passing through the low level outlet of Angat Dam on Thursday.
“Nagkaroon lamang po ng sudden surge ng level ng manganese na pumasok… ‘Pag nag-react [yun] sa chlorine na ginagamit natin bilang disinfectant, ito po ay nagko-cause ng discoloration doon sa tubig sa aming sistema (There was a sudden surge in the level of manganese that entered into the water system. When it reacts to the chlorine that we are using as disinfectant, this causes the discolorization in the water),” Maynilad water supply operations chief Ronald Padua said.
Padua allayed fears however, that the discoloration was harmful, saying the yellowish water was “still compliant to Philippine standards.”
“Puwede po siya pandilig, puwede po siya pang-flush sa ating mga CR, puwede rin po siya panghugas sa ating mga gamit sa bahay. Kasi nga po, hindi naman po talaga madumi, nagkataon lang na may kulay (You can use it to water the plants, flush the toilet, or wash things that we use in the household)” he added.
Padua said the water supply has normalized with the addition of chemicals in the treatment plant and the flushing of Maynilad’s pipe network and reservoirs, Padua said.
“Sa tingin po natin, most likely potable po ito. Pero ‘wag na natin i-risk kasi kalusugan po natin ito (In our view, most likely it is still potable. But let us not take the risk because it is our health that is at stake),” MWSS chief Patrick Ty said.
The MWSS was looking at ways to prevent a recurrence of the issue, Ty said in a radio interview..
He noted that Manila Water was also affected initially by the issue, which it immediately resolved and prevented from spreading in its system.