MANILA, Philippines - For the first time in the Philippine water utility industry, the Manila Water Co., the Ayala-led water concessionaire in Metro Manila’s East Zone, has pioneered the use of a unique and advanced dewatering technology to effectively treat wastewater and lessen sludge from treatment plants, called as the Geotube technology after its Innovations Research and Development team have successfully worked on it.
The Geotube is a good complement to the company’s environmental protection programs and advocacies, while at the same time, maintaining the high-quality standards and services that Manila Water has been known for in the past 14 years.
“Since Manila Water started using the pioneering technology, we have been very happy with the outcome as it is more efficient and beneficial resulting to a 90 percent reduction of solid sludge volume, said Geodino Carpio, Manila Water’s Operations Group director.
Previously, Manila Water needed to transfer and haul the generated waste activated sludge to septage treatment plants in San Mateo, Rizal and FTI in Taguig City for its dewatering process.
But with the Geotube technology, that time-consuming process is eliminated.
The technology works by separating the sludge from the water and deeply grinding the solid waste before it goes directly to a Geotube container, a disposable and recyclable environment-friendly vessel.
Through the process of de-watering, clear water simply drains from the Geotube container, after which, the remaining excess sludge will be brought directly to the landfill or transported to lahar-devastated areas.
As Manila Water continues to expand, it is also perceived to generate increasing volumes of sludge due to the increasing number of sewage treatment plants.
An additional increase in waste activated sludge is also expected to double, which will be addressed by the Geotube technology.