Residents in Tondo and other parts of Metro Manila and Cavite were left without water over the weekend after a Maynilad pipeline was damaged during construction, prompting frustration and long queues for water as repair efforts were hampered by heavy rain.

A water interruption has been experienced by residents of various cities and municipalities when a Maynilad pipeline was hit by a backhoe during the ongoing construction of Pritil Market on Nicolas Zamora St., Tondo, on Saturday.

“Masyado nang pahirap sa tao. Grabe naman,” Jocelyn Saldana told DAILY TRIBUNE.

She said the information dissemination was delayed, causing them to suffer because they had not saved water that would be used for cooking, bathing, and flushing their toilet bowl.

On Sunday, residents of Barangay 95, Tondo, Manila queued with their pails and gallons of water at the Bureau of Fire Protection fire truck that supplies water to affected residents.

Meanwhile, Maynilad, in a text message, said the torrential rains on Saturday morning have made their repair of the valve challenging.

“Nag-extend because of the rains. Pero ongoing repair na,” according to a member of Maynilad’s communications team.

In a separate Facebook post, Maynilad, the water concessionaire of MVP Group of Companies, said the site excavation was already done Sunday morning, and they are now in the process of dewatering to expose the damaged water pipe that is part of a bigger Maynilad pipe.

“Bagamat tuloy-tuloy ang trabaho ng aming field teams, natatagalan ang ilang aktibidad sa site dahil sa malakas na ulan. Ito ay upang masiguro rin ang kaligtasan ng aming mga tauhan. Dahil dito, kinakailangan naming i-extend ang service interruption sa mga apektadong customer,” Maynilad said.

The water concessionaire maintained that their mobile water tankers are currently going around to supply water to affected Maynilad customers.

Maynilad said stationary water tanks have been deployed in select areas where residents can collect water while repairs continue.