Water is very important for all living things. People are never too happy when there is news of water rationing.

The main metro area in the Philippines is the Metro Manila area. There are two water services that cover this area. One of them is Maynila Water Services, Inc. which is the largest water distributor in the Philippines. On August 13, 2014, it was big news when Maynilad announced that it is considering water rationing in early 2015 if the El Nino phenomenon hits the country.

El Nino phenomenon is the warming of temperatures of the sea surface in the Pacific area. How it affects the Philippines is by bringing below-average rainfall in the end of 2014 until the beginning of 2015. The government is now urging people to conserve water due to the possible dry spell.

If El Nino hits the country, the water levels in the dams that serve the water needs of the Metro Manila area will be below the 200 meters above sea level (MASL). This would be below the level where Maynilad can ensure the water supply for the metro area. Actually the Angat Dam level went below the 200 MASL this month so Maynilad is making efforts to conserve water in many ways.

Aside from water users conserving themselves, Maynilad is also conducting pipeline repair projects to save water lost through leaks and theft. Water loss through this leaks and theft has gone down to 31% in June 2014 from a high of 68% in 2007. Maynilad has also built 28 water reservoirs in the metro area and is also looking at tapping water treatment plants. The government is also looking at tapping mobile water treatment facilities, cloud seeding to increase rain volume and use groundwater through deep 

Sources: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/08/13/1357030/water-rationing-looms-2015 http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/05/06/1319830/dry-spell-strong-el-nino-seen-year

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