MAYNILAD Water Services Inc. recovered an accumulated volume of 560,000 cu.m. of potable water that had previously been lost due to illegal connections.

The company said in a statement yesterday it has conducted 6,900 anti-illegal operations from January to August targeting unauthorized water connections, tampered meters and unregistered lines across its service area.

The accumulated volume of recovered water is enough to meet the daily needs of 3,500 water service connections, improving water supply availability and pressure for legitimately paying customers, Maynilad added.

The company said the initiative also generated P62 million in revenues as violators were required to settle their penalties and reconnect legally to the Maynilad water network.

Since 2016, Maynilad has closed 25,000 illegal water service connections.

“Our efforts to crack down on illegal water connections not only prevent the possible entry of contaminants in the system but also ensure that all customers receive their fair share of the water supply,” said Christopher Lichauco, Maynilad customer experience and retail operations head.

The closure of illegal connections also form part of Maynilad’s Non-Revenue Water (NRW) Management Program, which aims to bring down physical and commercial losses.

Maynilad said around 92 percent of water losses in its franchise are due to physical losses or from pipe leaks, while the remaining 8 percent are due to commercial losses or from water theft and unregistered consumption.

NRW is the gap between the amount of water put into the distribution system and the amount of water for which customers are actually billed.