CEBU, Philippines - The Committee on Laws and Ordinances of the Cebu City Council has recommended for a public hearing on the proposed proper septage management ordinance in the city.
Councilor Edgardo Labella, chairman of the committee, said that public hearing is vital and obligatory considering that the ordinance sponsored by Councilor Nida Cabrera proposes an imposition of fees once implemented.
Cabrera’s ordinance would ensure proper waste water management by controlling and managing the storage, collection and disposal of septage. Cabrera believes that this is one way of protecting the health of the people and the environment.
Septage management treats solid and liquid waste materials in the septic tanks before the wastes will be disposed of to avoid polluting or contaminating the water bodies.
Last 2008, the City of Cebu and other local government units together with the representatives of the private sector in Metro Cebu participated in the Septage Management Program initiated by the Metropolitan Cebu Water District, United States Agency International Development and Philippine Sanitation Alliance.
Presidential Decree 198 or the Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973 mandates water districts nationwide to conduct proper sewerage management by emptying septic tanks regularly.
A study conducted by the World Bank revealed that more than 90 percent of the sewage generated in the country is not treated, resulting to high incidence of water-borne diseases and to economic losses. The highest loss was recorded at P78 billion in a year.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) tied up with the MCWD to conduct a feasibility study to find out the possibility of creating a dislodging scheme of the septic tanks in the different households and establishments in Metro Cebu.
Under the proposed ordinance, the city septage and sewerage management council shall be created with the broad function of adopting and approving the city septage management plan and its implementation.
For the implementation of the initial stage and sustain septage management program, there will be an a septage fee of one-peso and seventy-five centavos per cubic meter of water consumed through Metro Cebu Water District and other private concessionaries.
The billing fee will begin on January 2011 if the ordinance will be approved. — THE FREEMAN