Metro Manila water consumers can expect a more secure and reliable water as the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) has finally completed the construction of the P3.29-billion Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project (AWTIP) that started in June 2016.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
The AWTIP or Tunnel 4 located in Norzagaray, Bulacan was completed in June 2020. The project aims to improve the reliability and security of raw water coming from the Angat Dam through rehabilitation of the transmission system from Ipo to Angat Dam.
It is a 6.3-kilometer tunnel with a diameter of 4 meters that is designed to accommodate 19 cubic meters per second (m3/s) of raw water from Angat Dam.
The MWSS said the project was completed three months ahead of the original completion date of September 2020.
The structures that have been completed include the intake structure at Ipo reservoir; new transition basin at Bigte; slope protection works at Ipo Dam; channel connecting Tunnel 4 outlet portal to existing aqueduct 5; interconnection of the new transition basin at Bigte to the existing Transition Basin No. 3, and the necessary modifications of the existing transition basin No. 3 at Bigte.
"The AWTIP is a critical component of the MWSS’ water security program as it mitigates the risk of a partial or total disruption of water supply for Metro Manila," MWSS said in a statement on Monday.
"It will provide redundancy and enable the system’s full design capacity to be restored by allowing the upstream tunnels and downstream aqueducts to be sequentially closed, inspected, and rehabilitated or decommissioned," it added.
MWSS Administrator Emmanuel Salamat, who visited the project site on Monday, said he was pleased to see the completion of Tunnel 4, "as it now paves the way for the rehabilitation of the transmission system’s main components that are 75 years old, in poor condition, and most likely not in compliance with current structural and seismic requirements."
"These factors could seriously interrupt Metro Manila’s water supply. Minor delays due to ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) restrictions thwarted our best efforts to place on stream the additional 19 m3/s (equivalent to 1,600 million liters per day) into the delivery system. We have partially operated the tunnel last April, which solved the summer’s annual water supply problem," he explained.
"We are currently in commissioning activities and continue to work non-stop. The 1-month testing period will ensure the performance of each system and the overall system meet the design standards and operating requirements," he added.
The MWSS thanked the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for investing in water projects that secure additional bulk raw water transmission to consumers and alleviate the growing demand for water in the service area.
The water regulators have committed that right after the operationalization of Tunnel 4, another water security project will be underway.
It said that a seventh aqueduct known as the Bigte-Novaliches Aqueduct 7 will be financed by a loan secured from the ADB.