BAGUIO CITY – The city government wants owners of big establishments in the city to construct their own sewerage treatment plants (STPs) or waste water treatment plants (WTPs) to help the city government significantly reduce the pollutants in the various bodies of water and reduce the volume of waste water being brought to the already-overworked Baguio STP in North Sanitary Camp.
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong visited a number of big establishments around the central business district and reiterated the appeal of the city government for them to voluntarily put up their own STPs to help the city implement its different environmental preservation and protection programs to improve the state of the city’s environment.
At present, the city’s STP is now operating beyond its prescribed carrying capacity with the rapidly increasing number of waste water infused to the said plant aside from the fact that the facilities of the plant already need immediate rehabilitation so that it will be able to efficiently and effectively operate and increase its capacity.
From the supposed 8,400 cubic meters of waste water daily that the STP is supposed to treat, the volume of waste water being treated by the STP is now over 12,600 cubic meters and still increasing considering the growing number of connections that are being infused to the said plant.
Aside from requesting owners of big establishments to put up their STPs to treat the waste water from their establishments before being discharged to the river systems, the local government also wants to venture on the put up of other STPs in strategic areas in the city to treat the waste water coming from residential and commercial structures before the same is discharged to the different bodies of water thereby significantly reducing the pollutants in the rivers.
The local chief executive claimed that the put up of different STPs in strategic areas in the city will help in reducing the volume of waste water being directly discharged to the river systems that often result to the presence of high coliform level that affects the status of the river systems located in the different parts of the city considering the volume of waste water being absorbed thereby affecting the overall water quality of the rivers in the city.
Under the provisions of Ordinance No. 18, series of 2016 or the city’s Environment Code, establishments that discharge over 12 cubic meters of waste water are mandated to put up their own waste water treatment facilities to ensure water being discharged from their businesses to help in sustain the good water quality of the different bodies of water in the different parts of the city but the same has been grossly violated by existing city businesses, the need for the concerned offices of the city government to intensify its campaign against those that illegally discharge their waste water to the river systems.
Magalong expressed his gratitude to the owners of big establishments around the city for their positive response to his request for them to put up their own STPs.
By Dexter A. See
