‘SALT TO SAFE’: MPIW’s modular water plant up and running by May

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Metro Pacific Iloilo Water has one confirmed site for the construction of a modular water treatment plant in Iloilo City, with operations targeted to begin by April or May as part of efforts to address the ongoing water shortage.

MPIW Chief Operating Officer Angelo David Berba said the company successfully drilled a site in the Prime Estates Subdivision in Barangay Nabitasan, La Paz district, where the facility will be installed.

“We are currently doing it now, and hopefully by April or May, it will already be operational,” he said on March 11.

Berba said the modular treatment system at the Nabitasan site will treat saline water, using reverse osmosis to produce potable water.

Reverse osmosis is a water purification process that forces water through a semipermeable membrane to remove dissolved salts, contaminants, and impurities, making it suitable for drinking.

The modular water treatment plants are MPIW’s short-term measure to address the ongoing water crisis.

Each plant has the capacity to produce 1 million liters per day, which can augment the 80 million liters per day of bulk water supply MPIW currently maintains.

Iloilo City has faced recurring water supply challenges in recent years, driven by limited groundwater sources, aging infrastructure, and increasing demand from a growing urban population, prompting the city government and private water utilities to explore alternative supply solutions.

Berba said MPIW is also studying four more potential sites across the city.

He said the company is exploring a possible location near Atria along R. Mapa Street for additional modular facilities.

“Hopefully we will be able to find more viable lots where we can install this additional 4 million liters per day,” he said.

Berba said some exploratory drilling attempts in other areas have not been successful due to poor water quality and soil conditions.

Tests conducted in the Iloilo Fish Port Complex and a site in Arevalo yielded water that could not meet treatment requirements.

“We tried in the Fish Port Complex, and the Arevalo areas, but the water quality is not good. Even with reverse osmosis, our equipment cannot produce water that meets drinking standards,” Berba explained, noting that the company strictly complies with the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water.

MPIW hopes the remaining modular treatment plants will be operational by the third or fourth quarter of the year.

Berba also noted that the modular plants are power-intensive, but their operations are not directly affected by rising fuel prices as long as electricity rates remain stable.

However, he said the company has been monitoring electricity costs closely after experiencing a 30 percent increase in power charges over the past four months, which has significantly affected the cost of bulk water production.