Manila Water has so far filed cases against four customers for violation of Republic Act 8041 which penalizes water pilferage one of them the San Juan Slaughterhouse whose arrears are estimated at P3 million. Documents also show a dispute between the concessionaire and V.V. Soliven, developer of Loyola Grand Villas. But it is not only the two concessionaires who lose out from water pilferage. Small, law-abiding water customers also bear the brunt of water theft. Thieves puncture water lines that result in the contamination of the water supply.
Water pressure drops in places where thieves divert water supply for their own use.
Among these thieves are water sellers, some of whom go as far as turning off water valves that result in no-water situations in some areas. Consequently, ordinary consumers are forced to buy water from these water sellers for as high as 13 times the amount that both concessionaires charge. And because the concessionaires are losing revenue, they would have to seek price adjustments to recover losses, resulting in ordinary consumers paying the price for other users misdeeds. Unfortunately, Maynilad and Manila Water have themselves to blame for such a perception. Most of their publicized raids against water thieves have been directed at squatter communities in Metro Manila, which have been easy targets of the two concessionaires campaign against water theft.