Category Archives: Urban Living

Dear Maynilad and Herbert Consunji,

We have been without water, not a drop or two, since July 10, 2010 yet your site has this:

“Last Sunday (July 18), water level in Angat dam receded to 157.56 meters above sea level, which is way below the critical level of 180 meters. According to our records, this is the lowest water level in history.”

We understand the severity of the problem, we do.

We have been trying very hard to be understanding about your pathetic water distribution system way before the critical level has been reached. Though our patience and cool demeanor are wearing thin, we still try to keep our heads cool even though we feel otherwise since we have not bathed properly for almost two weeks now.

Why, we even pay for regurgitating air that comes out of the faucets instead of water.

“Given the limited water supply from Angat Dam and the very significant effect of the 30% raw water reduction (about 720 million liters per day) on our operations, we have been forced to implement rotating water schedules across the West Zone.”

Rotating? How long is the cycle? Two weeks without water or till September?

The rotating water schedule shall apply to the following areas (the times provided indicate the periods when the localities will have no water supply)

According to this press release above, our schedule is supposed to be 5am to 12 noon when we have no water.Really? This is NOT true because we haven’t had a drop since July 10. We wouldn’t be spending P200/week buying from delivery trucks + spend more on laundry services if we only have water coming out from 12noon till 5am. We are very conservative water consumers because we know we have to not because we don’t have much but because we care about the environment.

This expenditure on water delivery for a week  is more than our monthly bill.

“If we reach September and there are no rains, then we might be at the critical level of 120 meters [for domestic water supply}. If that happens, technically there is no more water for Metro Manila.” (Source)

Guess what it is only July 21 as of this writing and we are into day 12 without water.What more when September comes?

“Malabon City has no water from 4:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.Parang hindi to totoo.. Nag aabang kami ng 4 am para mas maaga at ma check kung me tubig.. Umabot na ng 4 pm wala pa ring tubig..”

The locals are getting restless, even asking for water delivery services from sites that write about the water crisis. Duh.

Maynilad water tanks that deliver free water has a long queue of people and there have been reports of people hurting each other just to get in line.

These tankers give free water to people who will present a proof of billing. Fine, because a LOT of people have illegal connections. But then again, they won’t deliver water straight to your homes, the trucks will take position at a strategic corner and people will line up with their water containers to be filled up.

Bahala ka na magbuhat ng mga baldeng puno ng tubig pauwi sa bahay mo. So what are we to do? We just pay for delivery lest we hurt ourselves carrying those heavy water containers.

A local radio news program commentator said this morning, “Baka sa kawalan ng tubig magpapatayan ang mga tao” which translates to “Because of the lack of water supply, people might hurt (meaning kill) each other’ [especially because they are fighting for the chance to get water delivery from your company].

Need this happen soon? I hope not.

I’ve heard of people getting killed for less, FYI.

Update: we were able to get water delivered right at our doorstep last night through the Maynilad water tanker. Though the water, upon inspection this morning seem yellowish, thank you still.

Oh, and the police are deploying troops to keep the peace and order situation?

Update: July 24: We already have water coming out of the faucets, yey for that!

I really hope you get to fix the leaky pipes and disconnect and penalize those with illegal connections.