ADB partners with Isle Utilities for special edition Podcast

[00:00:00] Piers Clark: Welcome to this special series of conversations supported by Isle Utilities in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank. In this series, we explore the innovations, partnerships, and policies driving sustainable water solutions across Asia and the wider Pacific.
[00:00:09] Piers Clark: My name is Piers Clark and my guest today is Evangeline Mendoza or Vangie, as she's known to her friends from Norzagaray Water District, Vangie. Brilliant to have you with us.
[00:00:18] Evangeline Mendoza: Hi.
[00:00:20] Piers Clark: Now Vangie, we always like to start by learning a little bit about the background of the interviewee. So, tell me where did you start? What did you study? How did you end up in the role that you are in Norzagaray Water District?
[00:00:33] Evangeline Mendoza: I am currently financial planning specialist of Norzagaray Water District. I am finance degree graduate from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. I graduate studies of international Academy of Management and Economics and I serve 27 years in MWSS In Metropolitan Water Works and Sewerage System.
[00:00:57] Piers Clark: Okay, so you've had 30 years working in the Philippine water sector. When did you join Norzagaray Water District?
[00:01:04] Evangeline Mendoza: I joined Norzagaray Water District in April 2018, six years almost.
[00:01:10] Piers Clark: Tell me, how many people does Norzagaray Water District serve?
[00:01:14] Evangeline Mendoza: Norzagaray Water District serve almost 24,000 service connections for more than one hundred thousand people. Actually, we purchase water. 90% is purchased from a bulk water provider and the 10% came from the deep well.
[00:01:28] Piers Clark: If I was looking at a map of the Philippines, where would I find Norzagaray?
[00:01:32] Evangeline Mendoza: Norzagaray is located at Bulacan. You can find it in the mountainous area of Luzon.
[00:01:37] Piers Clark: So, it's quite a rural area, some distance away from Metro Manila.
[00:01:42] Evangeline Mendoza: Including the traffic, almost three hours’ drive. Without traffic, it's one to one and a half hours.
[00:01:47] Piers Clark: Anyone who's been to Manila will know that it can take you three hours just to move three blocks. Right, what we've got is a population of about a hundred thousand people in a rural community with a water district that is specializing in providing drinking water. You are the last mile provider; you are the retail provider. You're buying bulk water. Mostly 90% of your water is purchase water, and then you top that up with 10% that comes from your own sources.
[00:02:13] Piers Clark: Now the big topic we're talking about today is the fact that you have been a mentee in the Asian Development Banks program of twinning utilities, sharing and bringing forward learning across the sector. Now tell me, when did you do this and how did that mentor mentee relationship begin?
[00:02:32] Evangeline Mendoza: The mentor, Mentee, partnership begin last year, 2024, when we attended, the safeguards and the gender seminar, workshop here in ADB.
[00:02:43] Evangeline Mendoza: I heard that Sir Vivek Raman, that they chose Norzagaray Water District as part of the training program. We'll start the diagnostic visit, and we paired them to Rowland Water District. The first diagnostic visit happened last, October 14 to 18, 2024.
[00:03:01] Piers Clark: And when you mentioned Vivek, you are talking about one of the senior water staff of the Asian Development Bank. So, he'd spotted what you needed and he'd proposed that Rowland Water District would be your mentor. I've always thought that it's a sort of genius approach that the Asian Development Bank adopts where not only are they providing you with the finance to be able to do the services you need, but they also enhance the value of that money by making sure that you get connections to utilities that maybe have already addressed some of the problems that you are experiencing so you can learn from them. And I think that's what underpins the mentor mentee relationship.
[00:03:35] Piers Clark: So, this started about eight months ago with the Rowland Water District.
[00:03:39] Piers Clark: Now where is the Rowland Water District in relation to you? How near are they?
[00:03:43] Evangeline Mendoza: Rowland Water District is in California, USA
[00:03:47] Piers Clark: So, Rowland Water District is on the other side of the planet, California as opposed to the Philippines. And you wouldn't naturally think that there were things you could learn from each other. Have you found that there are useful things that you've been able to bring into Norzagaray?
[00:04:02] Evangeline Mendoza: We are positive because their innovations in technology is very advanced and unique. When it comes to operations their operation is great from commercial, technical and financial aspects.
[00:04:17] Evangeline Mendoza: We are happy and excited to become their mentee because it'll help Norzagaray Water District address, some of our challenges when it comes to water.
[00:04:28] Piers Clark: So, you had the diagnostic visit, which is when they came to you and then earlier this year, you've been to them. What did you discover on that visit?
[00:04:38] Evangeline Mendoza: Actually, when they came here last October 14 to 18, the visit is very interesting. We have sharing and exchanges of ideas. They analyze and then they are the one who chose the four focus areas. Non-revenue water, the financial planning, asset management, and then last is the stakeholder’s engagement.
[00:04:59] Piers Clark: Irrespective of where you are in the world, if you're running a water utility, and whether you are running it in a metropolitan area or in a rural area. Stakeholder management, financial planning, non-revenue water, and asset management, those four things are always important to a utility. Now, the selection of those four, I think you mentioned that came about as you identifying that these were areas that you wanted to get better at and that Rowland Water spotted that they could bring value and that the ADB were also involved in that selection. A slightly cheeky question because you are still only eight months into a 12-month program. But are you able to comment on whether there are things that you are learning that are changing how Norzagaray Water District operates?
[00:05:42] Evangeline Mendoza: We benefited from sharing and exchanging ideas. Actually, we enjoy the benefit now. Especially in the financial planning and the asset management. For the tangible, they donated seven iPads that we use in our operations. When we visited them last April, they shared also their cashflow spreadsheet to us. We can use it also in our own water district. Also, they help us analyze on how we will do reclassification of our residential and commercial customers based on the cubic meter consumptions of the water. And then they help us analyze 100 customers and the NRW reduction program.
[00:06:27] Piers Clark: Okay. So, you've been able to analyze your data to work out who are the big water users and who are therefore the commercial water users and therefore be able to charge them the appropriate fees for the water they're using.
[00:06:39] Piers Clark: It sounds like you are eight months into a12-month program, but already reaping the benefits from the twinning program. It's wonderful to hear.
[00:06:47] Piers Clark: So, you are obviously very keen to learn from Rowland Water. Do you think that Rowland Water has learned anything from you?
[00:06:54] Evangeline Mendoza: Based on cultural, maybe because it's not only, the techniques on water, but the sharing of knowledge and exchanging of ideas is also based on culture.
[00:07:06] Piers Clark: I think you're absolutely right. Actually, it may even have enabled them a bit of self-reflection. So, we've come to the end of our time together and I'd like to ask you the question, if you could go back in time, if you could go back 20 years, and give some advice to a young Vangie, what advice would you give her? Would you say stay in the water sector or would you say heaven forbid, you must do something completely different.
[00:07:28] Evangeline Mendoza: I will advise my younger self to stay in the water because, you can serve your community, by using my talents and my competency in financial planning.
[00:07:41] Piers Clark: The water sector is a place where you can make a significant contribution to the community in which you live. Vangie, thank you for taking the time to be with me today. You have been listening to this special series of conversations supported by Isle Utilities in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank with me Piers Clark, and my guest today has been Evangeline Mendoza, or Vangie as she's known to her friends from Norzagaray Water District in the Philippines.
[00:08:02] Piers Clark: I hope you can join us next time. Thank you.