Over 700,000 households are expected to benefit from a more stable water supply once the Upper Wawa Dam in Rizal begins commercial operations in December.

Prime Infra-led WawaJVCo said on Friday that the project, part of the Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project’s second phase, was completed seven months ahead of schedule. 

It will deliver up to 710 million liters of water per day to the service area of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), which covers around 3.5 million Filipinos.

“The completion of the Upper Wawa Dam reflects Prime Infra and WawaJVCo’s ability to deliver large-scale infrastructure projects on time. This marks the beginning of one of our most critical water projects,” said Melvin John Tan, Prime Infra’s market sector lead for water and WawaJVCo president.

Contractor chosen

A handover ceremony from the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contractor to WawaJVCo was recently held to mark the completion of construction works. 

The dam, which began construction in 2021, features a 450-hectare reservoir — about twice the size of Bonifacio Global City — that can store up to 120 million cubic meters of water.

Ahead of its commercial operations, WawaJVCo has conducted a series of system tests, including those of the dam gates, the environmental flow turbine and other sensors and instruments.

The dam is also equipped with an ungated stepped spillway to safely regulate water release and an environmental flow turbine that ensures continuous downstream flow while generating renewable energy for dam operations, reducing its dependence on grid power.

MWSS administrator and vice chairperson Leonor Cleofas earlier cited the dam as a key component of the government’s water security roadmap, supporting long-term efforts to ensure water availability in the capital region.