MCWD revives water treatment plan

CEBU, Philippines - Two years after introducing the project to the city government, Metropolitan Cebu Water District pushed anew its proposed Septage Treatment Plant in the city-owned lot at the North Reclamation Area.

MCWD general manager Armando Paredes refreshed the city council members on its planned project that will finally make the city compliant with the Clean Water Act enacted in 2004.

“MCWD has been doing its part in ensuring clean water even before the passage of the law since clean water is our business. We are regularly monitoring the quality of water in terms of salinity, contamination, and the like,” Paredes said during the executive session called by the city council to determine the city’s performance in terms of complying with Republic Act 9275 or an Act Providing for a Comprehensive Water Quality Management and for Other Purposes.

Under the law, it is the task of the local government unit to provide the land that will be used for the sewerage and septage management project in accordance with the plan.

Paredes explained that construction cost of the plant can be shouldered by MCWD while the disludging can be passed to private sector, after Councilor Gerardo Carillo asked the MCWD head on the total cost of the treatment plant.

When Councilor Alvin Dizon asked for the timeframe of the implementation of the project, the water district official said it would depend on the response and action of the city government and other partner private and public institutions.

“First, we need to pass an ordinance. Then comes the agreement on the land that will be used as the treatment facility. Since we could not just easily implement this to our consumers, we need to hold a public hearing especially discussing the tariff,” Paredes enumerated.

Council committee on environment chairwoman Councilor Nida Cabrera sponsored the proposed ordinance which was the basis of the executive session conducted discussing the extent of Clean Water Act enforcement in Cebu City.

Cabrera added that the repair of the city-owned property eyed as treatment plant has already been incorporated to the 2014 budget under the city engineering office.

Also attending the executive session representing the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Environmental Management Specialist Cindelyn Pepito said until now there has been no accredited septic haulers in Cebu City making it also hard for the agency to regulate the illegal operations in order to fully implement the law.

In 2008, MCWD commissioned a feasibility study in partnership with United States Agency for International Development through Philippine Sanitation Alliance.

Consequently, the Septage Management Program for Metro Cebu was born, which construction of the accredited septage treatment plant is part of.

As a matter of procedure, the septage management program include feasibility study, ordinance, project site, tariff approval from LWUA, IEC and public hearing, detailed septage treatment plant design, financial and budgetary concerns, bidding process and awarding, implementation and operation.

The procedure was shared by Anthony Gedang from Envirokonsult equipment and services, who claims to be the first private person to implement the septage treatment plant.   (FREEMAN)