Dirty tap water forces poor to pay morePATERNO ESMAQUEL II, GMA NewsSeptember 13, 2011 1:18am

While living only a few steps away from two of Metro Manilas major water treatment plants, sari-sari store owner Edralin Cartel wouldnt dare let her family drink water from the tap.

The 29-year-old mother has reason to be concerned. Only last year, her 7-year-old daughter Beverly contracted amoebiasis, a food and water-borne disease, supposedly from contaminated water in school. Prior to this incident, the Cartels found nothing wrong with drinking tap water.

Since then, Cartel has resorted to buying five-gallon jugs of purified water from a nearby refilling station for her family of three, at P35 per jug once every two weeks.

This adds up to a monthly spending of P70 on bottled drinking wateron top of the P300 that she has to shell out every month to pay for the water bills charged by a government-regulated water service. Still, it is a small price to pay for health, says Cartel, whose house in Pansol, Quezon City, is a 10-minute walk from the Balara treatment plant of her water supplier, Manila Water Company Inc.

With a combined income of around P16,000 a month, she and her husband, a computer technician, could easily shoulder the added expense.

It is not the same story, however, for some 64,400 families in Metro Manila who live below the poverty line.

Latest data from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NCSB) show that a Filipino family of five needs at least P4,869 monthly to meet basic food needs.

In Metro Manila, where the minimum wage is pegged at P426 a day for non-agricultural industriesor P8,520 a month for those with five-day work weeksthe monthly income that a family needs to stay out of poverty is pegged at P8,251. (A survey by the Social Weather Stations or SWS says43 percent of NCR respondents rate themselves as poor.)

Basic need

Water is a basic human need.

Our bodies are estimated to be about 60 to 70 percent water. We need water to regulate body temperature, transport nutrients and oxygen to our organs and tissues and cells, remove waste and protect our joints and organs. We lose it through urination, respiration, and by sweating.

The jury is still out on how much water an individual needs on a daily basis in order to survive. The popular notion is that we need to drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water a day to remain healthy.

Thus, a family of five will need to buy at least 11 five-gallon jugsthe equivalent of around 900 glasses a monthto meet this requirement if they depend on refilling stations for their drinking water. This is equivalent to P385 monthly if the family buys per jug for P35.

The demand for safe drinking water has fueled a multimillion-peso water refilling station industry that generated P1.6 billion in Metro Manila sales in May 2011 alone, based on a study released by Kantar Worldpanel Philippines. This represents a 34-percent increase from the P1.2 billion recorded sales in the same period in 2010, says Kantar.

Kantar, the local arm of a global market research firm, regularly monitors the purchasing behavior of households toward fast-moving consumer goods, or those that are used on a daily basis such as water.

A growing number of Metro Manila households is resorting to water from refilling stations amid concerns over the safety of tap water, notes the research group.

In a household panel study, Kantar reports that over 6 out of 10 Metro Manila households bought water from refilling stations at least once in 2010 alone. This represents a 22-percent increase from figures that Kantar recorded a year earlier (Seegraphbased on Kantar data).

The trend is by no means unique to Metro Manila. The entire country posted a 9-percent increase in the demand for water from refilling stations in the same period, according to Kantar. Compared to other urban areas in the Philippines, however, it is Metro Manila that has the most number of residents who consider water from refilling stations safer."Latest data from 2009 show Metro Manila as among the regions with the highest incidence of diarrheal diseases and cholera (See sidebar). Both are food- and water-borne diseases.

Dr. April Navalta, a pediatrician, says children are especially at risk when drinking dirty tap water. This can expose children to diseases such as acute gastroenteritis and typhoid fever, she says. If you drink your tap water, you can never be so sure how clean your water is. So if youre using tap water, you boil your water before drinking it," Navalta says.

State resource

If she can only be assured that tap water is safe, Cartel, a Manila Water customer, would rather drink from the faucet given her water bills.Ang taas taas ng tubig namin eh. Dapat pagbutihin pa nila yung serbisyo nila(We already have exorbitant water bills. They should improve their service)," she says.

Consumers like Cartel have the right to demand quality service from water companies. After all, water is a public utility. The Water Code of the Philippines, or Presidential Decree No. 1067 signed by then President Marcos in 1976, is clear on who controls this resource: All waters belong to the State." And since water is vital" to national development, the law subjects its utilization and protection to the regulation and contr

Jose Carmelo Gendrano, deputy executive director of the advocacy group Philippine Center for Water and Sanitation (PCWS), points out that water is different from other goods and services because this resource is mobile. So an owner is hard put to defend his property rights over it.Halimbawa, ako may spring sa akin. Hindi ko masasabi sa spring na, Huwag kang mag-flow. Dito ka lang sa akin. Talagang magfo-flow yan(If I have a spring, for example, I cannot tell the spring, Do not flow. Stay here. The spring will continue to flow)," he says.

The government also needs to exercise control over water because the mobility of this resource allows for the spread of contaminants, according to Gendrano. I cannot just do whatever I want with the water, na padumihin siya, kasi kakalat siya eh. Mag-ii-spread siya, especially downstream where other people may be using it," Gendrano says.

Gendrano notes that the United Nations (UN) has come up with a resolution declaring the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right. Adopted in 2010, the resolution acknowledges the importance of equitable, safe, and clean drinking water and sanitation as an integral component of the realization of all human rights."

No free drinking water

It is thus the governments duty to provide the public with safe water to drink, Gendrano says. He notes that the government could do this in two ways: through direct provision or through regulation.

Either way, potable water comes with a cost.

Money is needed to facilitate the flow of water from watersheds, to collect it in dams, to treat it, to store it in reservoirs, and then to distribute it through pipe networks, says Gendrano.

Government can subsidize the provision of clean water, but to do so, it will have to get funds from taxpayers. Gendrano says another option is for the government to tap private companies to treat and distribute clean drinking water. These companies shall then charge customers so they can recover their investments and make some profit in the process. Kasi pag malugi sila, kawawa rin ang customers(Because if they lose money, the customers will suffer). Services will stop or deteriorate," Gendrano says.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon affirms this principle in his remarks at the UN General Assembly plenary meeting on the human right to water and sanitation in July.

Let us be clear: a right to water and sanitation does not mean that water should be free. Rather, it means that water and sanitation services should be affordable and available for all, and that States must do everything in their power to make this happen," Ban says.

Water concessions

In Metro Manila and surrounding areas, the government has entrusted the task to provide the public with water to Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water. The two companies get their mandate from water-supply concessions that began in 1997(See sidebar).

Based on the Water Code, both Maynilad and Manila Water are subject to government regulation. The law that regulates water quality is the Sanitation Code of the Philippines. It requires water supplies to pass the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW), last updated in 2007 and promulgated by the Department of Health (DOH), which is the lead agency mandated to implement the Sanitation Code.

In Metro Manila, a multi-sectoral committee monitors the compliance of Maynilad and Manila Water with the PNSDW. Called the Metro Manila Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Committee, this is chaired by the DOH Center for Health Development-Metro Manila. Other committee members include the MWSS Regulatory Office, the Environmental Management Bureau, the National Water Resources Board, Maynilad, Manila Water, and local government units.

Every month, the committee subjects water from Maynilad and Manila Water to a bacteriological, physical, and chemical examination. Generally, Maynilad and Manila Water get positive certifications from the committee, which they banner as a proof of quality.

In its latest water quality pronouncement, issued on August 26 for water used in July, the committee said the drinking water in the Maynilad and Manila Water distribution systems is of sanitary quality with adequate residual chlorine."

Unconvinced

Before our interview, Cartel did not know these findings, even that such a committee exists in the first place. Informed about the positive findings, Cartel remains unconvinced.

Bakit magtatae yung mga bata? Lalo na pag umuulan, bakit madalas na magkaroon ng pagtatae kapag umuulan kapag nanggagaling sa gripo yung tubig? Kaya di rin talaga kami nagtitiwala(Why do the kids experience abnormal bowel movements? Why do they experience this especially on rainy days, when they get water from the faucet? Thats why we cant easily believe them)," she says.

Referring to DOH officials, Cartel adds,Di ako naniniwala na umiinom din sila dun sa gripo eh. Malamang bumibili rin ng mineral water yung mga yun."

While believing that water is adequately treated at the nearby processing plants, she challenges water suppliers to more closely monitor other reasons for contamination, such as leaking pipes.Dapat nasa kanila rin yung pag-che-check nun, kung may problema yung tubo, kasi minsan talagang di namin alam(They should also check the pipes for problems because sometimes we really cannot tell)," says Cartel. with reports from Karlitos Brian Decena

(Next: Tap water in Metro a lot cleaner now, say experts)

This article was produced under the Maggie de Pano Fund for Investigative Reporting on Health. The Fund, which is managed by Newsbreak, is funded through a grant from Macare Medicals Inc.

Tap water in Metro a lot cleaner now, say expertsPATERNO ESMAQUEL II, GMA NewsSeptember 16, 2011 5:00pmReynaldo Sarmiento, a resident of Tondo, Manila, will always remember the time his father Aquilino, 70, succumbed to diarrhea after drinking tap water in 2003.

Aquilino and seven other Tondo residents died while over 800 more were hit in one of the biggest outbreaks of water-borne diseases in the country in the past decade. Nagka-phobia na kami doon," says Reynaldo, a Maynilad consumer, who now makes it a point to serve only bottled water at least to his familys toddlers.

Water from the two Metro Manila concessionaires is generally safe, according to experts. But the public is not aware of this fact because they dont get real-time information on water quality from the agencies.

In Metro Manila and surrounding areas, tap water is delivered to homes, offices, and establishments through networks of pipelines managed by Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Company Inc., the two water concessionaires in the metropolis.

Maynilad and Manila Water derive their mandate from the privatization of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), which has been tasked since 1971 to deliver potable water to Metro Manila residents and a few surrounding provinces(See Part 1:Dirty tap water forces poor to pay more).

Stories of death and disease, however, have dirtied the image of Maynilad and Manila Water through the years, spreading through anecdotes and receiving media attention.

Tondo, Manila, where the 2003 outbreak occurred, belonged to the concession area of Maynilad. When the outbreak took place, the concession agreement was already in place.

Illegal connections, leakages

Both concessionaires invariably attribute incidents like the 2003 outbreak to reasons beyond their control, such as illegal connections and poor hygiene.

Teresita Mancera, head of Maynilads Central Laboratory, says the Tondo outbreak took place in areas where illegal connections proliferated and was therefore not the suppliers fault. Such connections could lead to leakages that allow contaminants to seep into pipelines, Mancera explains.

Reynaldo says his fathers water pipe was legally connected to Maynilad. Mancera points out, however, that a neighbors illegal connection could also affect nearby legally connected households.

If you have a neighbor whos using a pump, it would create negative pressuredun sa linya(in the pipeline). Sokung may kapitbahay ka na gumagamit ng pump, papasok na yung dirty water," she says.

Jeric Sevilla, head of Manila Waters corporate communications division, shares the same view. We are tasked to provide them with water, but our [responsibility] ends with the meter," Sevilla says. From the meter,papasok na sa loob ngeither bahay, either subdivision, condominium. That is already the responsibility of the customer."

Six water stopovers

Both Maynilad and Manila Water vouch for the safety of their water transmission, treatment, and distribution processes. They say that a number of their safety standards even exceed those required by the government.

In these processes, a glass of water theoretically travels from as far as Umiray River in Nakar, Quezon, to the two concessionaires water treatment plants in Balara and La Mesa in Quezon City.

Water makes at least six major stopovers to ensure its quality once it is delivered to individual households in Metro Manila and surrounding areas.

The basic process involves the following steps:

flow of water from Umiray River, to Angat Dam, then to Ipo Dam

settling process in the Bicti Settling Basin

delivery of water to La Mesa Treatment Plants 1 and 2, and Balara Treatment Plants 1 and 2

water treatment involving four processesincluding coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection

distribution of water using gravity and pumpingTo kill contaminants in water, chlorine, a chemical disinfectant, is applied at different points of the treatment process. The Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW) monitors the waters chlorine level.

Compliance with drinking water standards is regulated by the Department of Health (DOH), the lead agency tasked to implement the Sanitation Code of the Philippines.

In Metro Manila, the DOH-led Metro Manila Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Committee monitors compliance with standards, and publishes water quality pronouncements every month.

Both Maynilad and Manila Water say they regularly pass and even exceed a number of PNSDW requirementsin particular, the required level of residual chlorine. This refers to the amount of the chemical remaining in the water once it reaches a customers faucet, considering that it gets depleted every time it attacks bacteria and viruses.

The PNSDW requires a residual chlorine level of 0.3 parts per million. This means that if water, at the treatment plant, is mixed with 0.7 ppm of chlorine and passes through kilometers of pipelineswith the chlorine killing impurities and getting used up along the waywater should still end up at a household tap with 0.3 ppm of the disinfectant.

The PNSDW sets the maximum amount of chlorine, at any point of the distribution system, at 1.5 ppm.

Water from Maynilad has a residual chlorine level of 0.85 ppm, while that from Manila Water also has 0.85 ppm, based on the latest water quality report that covered July this year. The pronouncement was issued on August 26.

General improvements

The water testing processes themselves serve as proof that Metro Manilas water services have improved since Maynilad and Manila Water took over from MWSS, according to Maynilads Mancera.

She herself worked at MWSS from the 1980s until 1997, when she was transferred to Maynilad following the privatization of MWSS services.

As an example, Mancera cites the number of fixed sampling points in the two companies concession areas: 808 for Maynilad and 605 for Manila Water.

Mancera notes that before the privatization, MWSS only had 200 to 300 water sampling points for both the West and East Zonesless than a third of the current sampling points of Maynilad and Manila Water combined. So logistics-wise, were better off, which redounds to better customer care,di ba?"

She also says Maynilad equips its laboratories with top of the line" instruments.

Both Maynilad and Manila Water add that they have successfully brought down non-revenue water (NRW) or systems losses caused by leaks and defective meters, among other things.

The Asian Development Bank defines NRW as water that a water utility does not receive any compensation for" as a result of leakages, inadequate measurement, and illegal and unauthorized use.

In its fact sheet dated March this year, Maynilad reports that it has slashed its NRW level to 50 percent. For its part, Manila Water says it has reduced its NRW level to 11 percent as of 2010.

NRW reductions mean more resources to give the public, Manila Waters Sevilla explains. Reducing the systems loss and recoveringyung tubig na nawawala(the water that is lost) gives us the water to provide to these areas lalo na yung mga depressed communities," he says.

Sevilla adds that lower NRW levels remove potential avenues for contamination."

In time for Ondoy

Dr. Lino Macasaet, DOH program manager for food-and-water-borne diseases, vouches for the safety of Maynilad and Manila Waters potable water supplies.

Macasaet notes the massive improvement of pipelines by the two concessionaires, the clear effect" of which was seen when tropical storm Ondoy inundated large portions of Metro Manila in 2009.

He says that at that time, the DOH was expecting a rise in the number of cholera and typhoid cases due to water contamination through rusty pipelines. Macasaet recalls that both Maynilad and Manila Water were upgrading their pipes from metal to polymer at around the same period.

The DOH assumed that the two companies did not finish their pipe upgrades and therefore stockpiled on water purification tablets and other drugs in anticipation of a waterborne-disease outbreak, according to Macasaet.

[Thankfully],tamang tama lang, natapos(They finished just in the nick of time)," he says. Mangilan-ngilan lang yung cases ng cholera and typhoid(We only had a few cases of cholera and typhoid)."

Pinky Tobiano, a chemist and founder of the independent water laboratory Qualibet Testing Services Corp., also confirms the claims of the two concessionaires. Tap water in Metro Manila, as long as it is supplied by the two water providers, and as long as the pipes in the homes are intact, there's no problem drinking it," she says.

Late water quality reports

But is the public aware that tap water is safe, as certified by the multi-sectoral water committee and other experts?

(See the latest water quality pronouncement in the PDF below)

Engr. Jose Carmelo Gendrano, deputy executive director of the Philippine Center for Water and Sanitation, believes that tap water is generally safe. However, he says the monitoring committee has difficulty relaying information on water quality to the public.

Gendrano points out that the water quality pronouncements, which are released weeks after the covered period, should come out much earlier. The report covering July, for example, still holds until the middle of September when the August pronouncement is expected to come out.

Gendrano says bacteriological, physical, and chemical examinations on water should take only around four days per sampling point. He says water quality reports should be posted online immediately after the testing.

The more real-time yung data na yon, the more confidence meron yung mga tao. Kaysa yung two months ago," he says.

Gendrano says delayed data makes it way too late" for people to take action on water quality.

O halimbawa, start of the rainy season, June ngayon. Ang available na data sa akin is April, dry season pa yon. Eh alam natin, pag rainy season, mas malaki ang chance ng mga outbreaks ng water-borne disease. So kung April pa yon, parang maganda pa yung water quality. Mami-mislead ako," Gendrano explains.

The two water companies could also be victims of slanted information" presented in commercials to persuade consumers to buy bottled water instead, according to Gendrano. Commercials try to convince you by presenting information which is sometimes not balanced," he says.

Mixed feedback

Despite advertisements suggesting tap water is unsafe to drink, a growing number of residents are now starting to have faith in Metro Manilas water supplies.

In Tondo, for example, several residents have noticed improvements in water quality, prompting them to drop bottled water in favor of tap.

Pedicab driver Renato Mata explains, Mula noong nagpalit na ng tubo ang Maynilad, ayos na ang takbo. Maski hindi mo na pakuluan ang tubig, inumin mo na nang diretso, wala nang problema," he says.

Eric Lacson, another Tondo resident, has abandoned drinking bottled water altogether. Talagang malinis ngayon, naiinom," he says.

Gendrano himself drinks from the tap and doesnt boil his water. Kasi matagal na akong umiinom, hindi naman ako nagkakasakit," he says.

Yet, even the water quality experts still hold reservations about drinking directly from the tap. Macasaet of DOH, who says water from the two concessionaires is 90 to 100 percent safe to drink, uses a filter for tap water at home. Just to cover for the other 10 percent," he explains.

Meanwhile, Tobiano of Qualibet says she doesnt mind drinking from the tap as long as it comes from a safe source," such as her own household. But I don't think I will drink tap water in a public area, because I'm not sure where the source comes from," she says. -GMA News

(Next: Why Malacaang doesnt serve tap water)

This article was produced under the Maggie de Pano Fund for Investigative Reporting on Health. The Fund, which is managed by Newsbreak, is funded through a grant from Macare Medicals Inc.

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