A critical component of Metro Manila’s water security program which will mitigate the risk of a partial or total water disruption in the area has been completed and is now on commissioning, according to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS)
The P3.29-billion tunnel 4 Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project (AWTIP) provides redundancy that enables 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.
“The completion of tunnel 4… paves the way for the rehabilitation of the transmission system’s main components that are as old 75 years, 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,” said MWSS administrator Emmanuel Salamat.
Salamat in a statement said they have partially operated the tunnel last April which helped in dealing with the country’s annual water supply problem during the summer season.
“We are currently in commissioning activities and continue to work non-stop. The one- month testing period will ensure the performance of each system and the overall system meet the design standards and operating requirements,” he said.
MWSS said the tunnel spanning at 6.3 kilometers with a finished, internal span diameter of 4 meters, designed to accommodate 19 cubic meters (cu. m.) per second raw water from Angat Dam is the centerpiece of the improvement project.
Construction of the tunnel project started in June 2016 and was completed this month, ahead of the original completion date of September 2020.
MWSS said it will now start works for the seventh aqueduct known as the Bigte-Novaliches Aqueduct 7 that will be financed by a loan from the Asian Development Bank.
