Geline Salac

Manila Water, Maynilad urge customers to avail of free desludging of septic tanks

Article (news)

Alvin Elchico

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Water concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad appeal to its millions of customers to take advantage of the free desludging services to clean their septic tanks.Both Maynilad and Manila Water have monthly schedule of desludging as part of their service to maintain environmental protection and public health.Manila Water Spokesman Jeric Sevilla said consumers need not pay for the desludging service as it is already part of the environment charge which is 25 percent of their total bill. Sevilla said only about 30 percent of the company&#x27;s more than 1 million customers have sewer lines which means waste water goes straight to waste water treatment plants.That means around 70 percent remain unconnected to sewer lines, thus the need to take out waste water and deliver it to treatment plants before disposing it in bodies of water.The company says regular desludging, ideally every 5 years, helps prevent untreated wastewater from contaminating our waterways, and supports a cleaner, more sustainable future for all.For Maynilad, only about 25 percent of customers are connected to sewer lines, which means more than a million customers still need to be serviced by desludging trucks every 5 years.According to Manila Water, if done through private desludging companies, a consumer will need to shell out P4,000 for siphoning services.For Maynilad, consumers are advised to check if their septic tanks have not been siphoned in the last 5 years as this may overflow anytime soon.Maynilad Spokesman Zmel Grabillo says overflowing septic tanks can cause unsanitary environment, as well as water borne diseases like diarrhea, cholera and even leptospirosis.Priority barangays for Maynilad are posted on its Facebook account but if consumers are not sure about the schedule, they can call 1626 or talk to zone specialists, assigned to their zone areas.In case of emergency overflow, Maynilad also has on demand desludging for free, if the customer has not yet been serviced within the 5 years.But if the customer has been already serviced within the 5 year period and an emergency overflow happens, there is a fee of P4,700.

Water concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad appeal to its millions of customers to take advantage of the free desludging services to clean their septic tanks.

Water concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad appeal to its millions of customers to take advantage of the free desludging services to clean their septic tanks.