Water is one of the main necessities in our lives, it plays a big role in our daily chores and activities. Without water, a lot of things will not work the way they used to, same goes with us. Without water, we wouldn’t function well and there are lesser things that we can do for our daily routines. It’s a good thing that we have water companies that make sure that the water they provide is sufficient and of good, trust-worthy quality.
But as we all know, improvements in the services comes with a price. As you heard, Metro Manila water concessionaires, including Maynilad, will increase water rates this year.
This is one way to ensure that the daily supply of water will continuously be available and is also a way for maintaining clean and safe water for their consumers. These adjustments are being done by the concessionaires to sustain investments for water security and environmental sustainability, as per Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System. The water rate adjustments are being done every five years; this process is called Rate Rebasing. Through this process, reasonable water rates will be computed in consideration of the earnings, expenses, unrecovered investments and service improvement plans of the water concessionaires.
This process was designed to also benefit the consumers as it allows the slow adjustment of water rates despite the huge, fast investments of the water concessionaires. Under the Concession Agreement of the MWSS with the water concessionaires, the concessionaires advance funds for the implementation of service improvement projects, and they can only recover these invested funds through the tariff paid by consumers. This way, the impact on the water tariff paid by consumers would be properly managed.
The said increase may be a little too much for others and can cause uproar. No need to worry, cause the tariff follows a socialized structure so that high water consumers (like Commercial establishments) pay more for water and, thus, subsidize the low water consumers. This is one technique that permits water concessionaires to keep charges at a reasonable cost for households. Note that this increase will be used for the improvement of the water and wastewater services in the Philippines, not only for this generation but for our future generations as well.
Because of the increase in the water rate, investments in the improvement and expansions of the water and wastewater infrastructures in the country will be sustained for upholding the living conditions of the Filipino citizens here in our country.
With this tariff increase, as a mom, we should make sure that we have efficient alternatives to cope up with the increase. Here are some tips on how we can save up and lower our water consumption:
1. Do not use running water to thaw food.
2. Use a pail and cotton rag instead of a hose when washing your car.
3. Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth, and while shaving, you can save up 300 gallons of water and 35 gallons of water a month, respectively, by doing so.
4. Make sure that faucet is tightly closed when not in use.
5. Water your plant in the morning and in the afternoon when it’s cooler.
6. Wash the dishes using a basin instead of using running water.
7. Lessen your shower by a minute or two to save up to 250 gallons of water a month.
8. When showering, keep a bucket near the showerhead and use the collected water to flush the toilet.
9. Use your broom instead of hose to clean your driveway and sidewalk.
10. Last but not the least, report pipe leaks and illegal connections to Maynilad hotline, 1626, or PM them on Facebook.
For all of these to be successful, we must contribute in our own little ways. There’s no better way than to start doing that in our homes, let’s encourage everyone in our family to help save water, not only to lower our water consumption rate, but also to save and preserve our water supply and wastewater facilities. There’s no harm in being disciplined, perhaps we can save nature with the little things we do like conserving water and cooperating with others.
The tariff increase may be a burden to us at first but let us be reminded that it is for the improvement of the water and wastewater infrastructures and facilities, that is necessary for the health of our family and community, together with the preservation of the environment. If you look at it, this is a win-win situation, it improves our water infrastructures while ultimately improving our own living conditions here in the Philippines.
Watch this #MayniLove#EpisodeTwovideo to know more:
Bakit nga ba ang tagal ibalik ni Maynilad sa dati ang mga kalsadang hinukay nito? Alamin kay Kuya Dong!
