TO minimize the inconvenience of road excavation works during leak repair operations in line with its campaign to bring down water losses, Maynilad Water Services Inc. (Maynilad) has started to use the Tyfo Fibrwrap pipe rehabilitation system.

Maynilad, the concessionaire for the west zone of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), is the first water company in the Philippines to use this technology. 

Maynilad president and chief executive officer Ricky Vargas said in a statement the technology allows the repair of primary pipelines from the inside, thus minimizing road excavations during leak repair operations.

Water companies traditionally need to expose the pipe before it can be repaired. This often results in traffic buildup, higher costs and longer repair schedule.

With the new technology, Maynilad contractors only need to expose the beginning and end part of a broken primary line to conduct the actual leak repair. Aside from minimizing the excavation of roads, the technology also prevents internal diameter loss of the pipe since it doesn’t add more than ¼-inch thickness to the pipe.

The adoption of the Tyfo Fbrwar Pipe Rehabilitation System is one of the company’s initiatives to further bring down non-revenue water (NRW) level in its concession area, Vargas said. “We want to recover more water for our customers at the soonest possible time so we are constantly on the lookout for technologies and innovations that will allow us to do this,” Vargas added.

This year, Maynilad has allocated more than P2.6 billion to reduce its NRW which is currently at 50 percent—the lowest in its history.