West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) recovered an accumulated volume of around 560,000 cubic meters of potable water that had previously been lost due to illegal connections, following its January to August 2024 implementation of 6,900 anti-illegal operations targeting unauthorized water connections, tampered meters, and unregistered lines across its service area.
This accumulated volume of recovered water is enough to meet the daily needs of around 3,500 water service connections, improving water supply availability and pressure for legitimately paying Maynilad customers. Additionally, this initiative generated Php62 million in revenues, as violators were required to settle their penalties and reconnect legally to the Maynilad water network.
Maynilad attributes the success of this initiative to the cooperation of local government units (LGUs), whose assistance was instrumental in enforcing the anti-illegal water campaign. Since 2016, Maynilad has successfully closed nearly 25,000 illegal water service connections, reducing losses and improving service delivery to legitimate customers.
“Our efforts to crack down on illegal water connections not only prevent the possible entry of contaminants in the system but also ensure that all customers receive their fair share of the water supply,” said Maynilad Customer Experience and Retail Operations Head Christopher J. Lichauco. “We are grateful for the support of the LGUs in our campaign to uphold water equity and discourage illegal activities.”
The closure of illegal connections form part of Maynilad’s Non-Revenue Water (NRW) Management Program, which aims to bring down “physical” (i.e., from pipe leaks) and “commercial” (i.e., from water theft and unregistered consumption) losses. NRW is defined as the gap between the amount of water put into the distribution system and the amount of water for which customers are actually billed. Around 92% of water losses in the West Zone are due to physical losses, while the remaining 8% are due to commercial losses.
Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) in the Philippines in terms of customer base. Its service area includes the cities of Manila (all but portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana), Quezon City, Makati Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, and Malabon, all in Metro Manila; and the cities of Cavite, Bacoor, and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario, all in the province of Cavite.
