ANKA presents BIRDIE by Valsir: Up to 95% Less Water Evaporation as the Philippines faces El Niño

ANKA TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS brings Italian water-management innovation to the Philippines

Water stored today may be the water a farm, business or community needs most tomorrow. Yet an open reservoir can lose part of that valuable reserve to evaporation before it ever reaches a crop, an industrial process or an irrigation system.

ANKA TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS, the Philippine importer of Italy’s Valsir S.p.A., is putting this challenge in focus with BIRDIE: a 100% Made in Italy modular floating cover system designed to protect open water surfaces, conserve stored water and improve reservoir management.

With El Niño raising concerns about water availability in the Philippines, BIRDIE offers a practical question for reservoir owners: how much more of the water already collected could be retained by protecting its exposed surface?

The industrial strength behind the solution

Founded in Italy in 1987, Valsir is a leading European manufacturer in the plumbing and heating sector, with a portfolio extending into drainage, rainwater management and reservoir protection.

Behind BIRDIE stands Valsir S.p.A., a leading Italian manufacturer. Valsir also reports more than 30 product lines, approximately 10,000 products and a presence in more than 100 markets. In 2025, Valsir and its subsidiaries and associated companies reported aggregate revenues exceeding EUR 531 million. Valsir is part of Silmar Group, which recorded aggregate revenues of EUR 1.467 billion in the same year - demonstrating the industrial scale and manufacturing expertise behind the solution.

For Philippine customers, ANKA TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS connects this established manufacturing expertise with a local point of contact for product enquiries and project discussions.

Why reservoir protection matters during El Niño

PAGASA’s September 2026 outlook identifies ongoing El Niño conditions and indicates that the phenomenon may continue into the first half of 2027. El Niño increases the likelihood of below-normal rainfall, dry spells and drought in parts of the Philippines.

For operations that depend on stored water, protecting existing reserves can become an important part of preparedness. Irrigation reservoirs, rainwater-harvesting basins and operational water-storage facilities all represent water that has already been collected, pumped or otherwise secured.

BIRDIE targets evaporation from the exposed surface. By reducing this loss, it can help operators retain more of their stored supply and strengthen water-conservation measures during periods of pressure on replenishment.

Small floating modules, a practical engineering concept

BIRDIE uses individual floating modules that distribute across the water surface to form a protective cover. Each module is manufactured through a blow-moulding process, with a three-layer structure made from recycled UV-stabilised HDPE for prolonged outdoor exposure.

Its design combines three functional elements:

1) Hexagonal flotation chamber: the hollow outer chamber provides buoyancy, while its shape helps neighbouring modules sit closely together to create a dense surface cover.

2) Central stabilising body: the spherical centre is partially filled with water, adding ballast to improve stability. The amount of water introduced can be adjusted to suit the application.

3) Rainwater drainage channels: dedicated passages between the flotation chamber and central body allow rainfall to drain into the basin, preserving its rainwater-collection function.

The modules reposition as the underlying water level changes, making the system adaptable to reservoirs whose levels rise and fall through rainfall, abstraction or seasonal use.

Together, these elements create a flexible floating barrier that limits exposure to sunlight, helps reduce evaporation and algae growth, and maintains access to the underlying water.

The benefits that make BIRDIE worth a closer look

Valsir’s published product information identifies three headline performance benefits:

Up to 95% evaporation reduction, helping conserve stored water. Up to 99% surface coverage, creating a near-continuous floating barrier. Up to 99% algae reduction, limiting a common challenge in exposed basins.

The system also helps reduce unpleasant odours, pest access and exposure to external contaminants.

These benefits address different operational needs. For an irrigation reservoir, the priority may be retaining water. For a livestock slurry basin, odour and emission containment may matter more. For a storage facility, limiting algae and external contamination may be an additional reason to assess a cover.

The percentages relate to specific performance characteristics; they do not represent a guaranteed reduction in total facility water consumption.

Designed for straightforward installation and flexible operation

BIRDIE can be installed in empty or full basins without specialised installation machinery. Its modular approach can avoid the major structural works associated with some fixed covering systems, subject to site requirements.

Modules can be removed, reused and transferred between basins. Water remains accessible, and the cover adjusts automatically as the liquid level changes.

Compared with a cover manufactured for one specific basin, this flexibility can be useful when operating needs change or when equipment must be accessed.

The system has low maintenance requirements and a manufacturer-declared expected service life exceeding 25 years. These characteristics make it worth assessing over the full operating life of a project, alongside installation costs and the value of conserved water.

Applications relevant to the Philippines

BIRDIE’s value extends beyond conserving irrigation water. Its modular floating cover can address different operational challenges - from exposed wastewater-treatment basins to airport water bodies and mining facilities.

Water and wastewater treatment: protecting essential infrastructure

For municipal utilities, industrial facilities and wastewater-treatment operators in the Philippines, exposed basins can present several challenges at once: evaporation, algae growth, unpleasant odours and contamination from external materials.

Valsir identifies BIRDIE applications in sedimentation tanks, oxidation basins and selected treatment facilities, including systems equipped with mixers, agitators or air injectors.

By covering the liquid surface, BIRDIE helps limit evaporation and sunlight exposure, reduce algae proliferation and contain odours. It also helps shield the basin from dust and windblown organic debris.

The floating modules adapt to changing liquid levels while preserving access to the water. Compatibility must be assessed against the treatment process, particularly aeration, oxygen-transfer requirements and equipment access.

For operators, this makes BIRDIE worth considering as an improvement to suitable existing basins as well as part of new facility design.

Airport infrastructure: helping reduce the attraction of open water to birds

Open water bodies near airports can attract birds, creating an additional challenge for wildlife-hazard management.

Valsir identifies BIRDIE as a covering option for airport basins. By limiting access to the exposed water surface, the system can help discourage birds from gathering on covered water bodies.

This application should be assessed within the airport’s wider wildlife-management programme, alongside drainage performance, maintenance access and operational requirements. BIRDIE provides a surface-management measure that can complement an airport’s approach to reducing bird-related hazards.

Mining and mineral processing: managing exposed operational basins

For mining and mineral-processing operations in the Philippines, water management is closely connected to operational efficiency and environmental responsibility.

Valsir identifies applications in mineral-extraction treatment tanks and industrial wastewater basins. Depending on the application, BIRDIE can help reduce evaporation, limit the dispersion of volatile compounds and reduce the entry of external debris.

Its modular format allows coverage to follow changing liquid levels and enables modules to be removed or relocated when operating needs change.

Suitability must be assessed for the specific liquid chemistry, temperature, solids content and operating conditions. This is particularly important in mining, where individual basins can have very different process requirements.

Agriculture, rainwater storage and livestock

BIRDIE also serves irrigation reservoirs supplying farms and plantations, rainwater-harvesting basins and livestock slurry-storage facilities.

In irrigation and rainwater storage, the priority is retaining more of the water already collected. In livestock applications, coverage can also help reduce unpleasant odours and emissions such as ammonia and methane.

Additional applications

Other potential uses include irrigation ponds serving golf courses and sports facilities, water-storage and fire-water reserves, and suitable reservoirs with floating photovoltaic systems. Drinking-water applications require assessment of the relevant water-quality requirements and approvals.

What could BIRDIE improve at your facility?

The starting point is the basin itself: its dimensions, liquid characteristics, changing levels, existing equipment and the challenge the operator wants to address.

Whether the priority is conserving water, managing odours, limiting algae or reducing bird access, these details help establish suitability and define the proposed coverage.

ANKA TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS, the official representative of Valsir BIRDIE in the Philippines, invites water and wastewater operators, airport authorities, mining companies, engineers, agricultural businesses and project developers to request technical documentation and discuss their project requirements.

Discover what a smarter approach to surface protection could mean for your operation.

BIRDIE by Valsir - protect the water you already have.