BAGUIO CITY – The city government needs an initial P24 million to clean the murky water of the Burnham lake within the next several months to allow local residents and tourists to enjoy boating activities within the 2-hectare man-made body of water.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said that during the meeting of the Burnham Park Management Committee Tuesday, a Japanese company presented a technology that could be applied on the water of the lake that would bring back its original clear feature from its present murky state.
Aside from the P24 million needed to clean the murky water, the local chief executive cited the local government needs to spend at least P3 million annually in order to maintain the quality of water in the lake.
“We have to seriously consider the adoption of the technology to our finances so that important development projects for our barangays and the delivery of basic services to our people will not be compromised once we decide to embrace the proposed technology,” Domogan said.
It was learned that since the Department of Public Works and Highways – Baguio City District Engineering Office (DPWH-BCDEO) implemented the massive rehabilitation of the Baguio Athletic Bowl, part of its drainage reportedly drains to the Burnham lake that caused the water to turn murky and the local government was not able to immediately address the problem until the situation worsened over the past several weeks.
Domogan directed the city environment and parks management office (CEPMO) to find the source of the drainage that causes the water to become murky so that it could be immediately plugged and for the said office to also look for available technologies that would immediately clean the water so that local residents and tourists will not always call it a chocolate lake.
He said concerned offices of the city government must be sensitive on the plight of the public to improve the quality of water in the lake so that it would be worthy to do boating and enjoy the usual clearly water of the lake.
The city mayor appealed to the public for more patience and understanding since the local government is doing its best to find the source of the problem and ascertain the appropriate solutions that could be adopted in order to clear the water of the lake in the coming months so that visitors will be able to enjoy their desired activities in the area.
Boating in the Burnham lake is one of the favourite activities of foreign and domestic visitors coming up to the city to spend a well-deserved vacation.
According to him, the city government heavily subsidizes the maintenance and operation of Burnham Park because the income generated from the various activities and concessionaries only amount to at least P10 to P12 million annually while it shells out more than P40 million a year just to make sure that the 34-hectare park will be adequately maintained without significant improvements.
Burnham Park is titled under the name of the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) now known as the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) but its administration, maintenance and operations was lodged with the city.
