City assures: Septage stink won’t last

CEBU, Philippines - After receiving complaints on stinking odor of city’s septage treatment plant, the Cebu City government assured the residents living near the facility at the North Reclamation Area that the foul smell is only “temporary.”

The city is preparing to institute measures to treat the fresh septic discharges like the installation of underground catchment hose or septage holding tank to stop waste leakage and the like starting next month.

Randy Navarro, chief of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office, said the catchment can hold at least 60 cubic meters of fresh septic waste.  The STP can process 75 cubic meters per six hours.

The P15 million STP facility was donated by AMCON Inc. of Japan which developed and manufactured the Volute Dewatering Press, a facility that manages surplus sludge from biochemical treatments, livestock wastewater, septic tanks, and oil bearing sludge from dissolved-air floatation thickening tanks.

The waste collected is deposited to the catchment or receiving tank before it will be processed and treated.

Navarro said the project will take more than a month to finish, including three weeks excavation works and additional three weeks for the construction of a holding pond.

“This will help para ma cope-up ang tanang waste and dili mabaho,” he said.

CCENRO will purchase the equipment costing P100,000 in Japan which will be charged against its P976,800 water quality management program account.

The office has total annual appropriations of P29.6 million for 2015.

The haulers in the city are also encouraged to modify their discharge hoses by placing a gate valve to help control waste discharge.

City Solid Waste Management Board chairman lawyer Jade Ponce believed that the equipment will help address the stink in the area.

“This is not just a table planning but an actual program to address this concern,” he said.  (FREEMAN)