MWSS: Refrain from drinking yellowish water

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MANILA — Maynilad on Friday said the yellowish water observed in some of its service areas this week was "not harmful."

The discoloration was due to a spike in manganese in the raw water passing through the low level outlet of Angat Dam on Thursday, Maynilad said.

"Nagkaroon lamang po ng sudden surge ng level ng manganese na pumasok… ‘Pag nag-react [yun] sa chlorine na ginagamit natin bilang disinfectant, ito po ay nagko-cause ng discoloration doon sa tubig sa aming sistema," Maynilad water supply operations head Ronald Padua said.

The yellowish water was still compliant to Philippine standards, he said.

"Hindi naman po talaga siya harmful. Nagkataon po talaga siyempre, aesthetically hindi magandang tingnan, may kulay kasi yung tubig kaya medyo asiwa talaga na ma-consume siya ng mga tao," Padua told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.

"Puwede po siya pandilig, puwede po siya pang-flush sa ating mga CR, puwede rin po siya panghugas sa ating mga gamit sa bahay. Kasi nga po, hindi naman po talaga madumi, nagkataon lang na may kulay," he added.

The water supply has normalized with the addition of chemicals in the treatment plant and the flushing of Maynilad's pipe network and reservoirs, Padua said.

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The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System advised the public to let the water flow from faucets for a while if it remained yellowish and refrain from drinking the discolored water.

"Sa tingin po natin, most likely potable po ito. Pero ‘wag na natin i-risk kasi kalusugan po natin ito," MWSS chief regular Patrick Ty said.

The MWSS is investigating how to prevent a repeat of the issue, he told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.

Ty noted that Manila Water was also affected initially by the issue, which it immediately resolved and prevented from spreading in its system.