Manila Water
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently inaugurated
a multimillion-peso septage treatment facility of
Manila Water Company in Taguig City that will boost
public health, provide sanitation services and further
guarantee greater protection of the environment in
the eastern part of Metro Manila.
Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo
Reyes was also on hand to assist President Arroyo
during the opening rites for the P 330 Million South
Septage Treatment Plant (SSTP), a major component
of the P3.14-billion Manila Third Sewerage Project
(MTSP) being implemented by Manila Water.
The new plant will have a septage treatment capacity
of 815 cubic meters of per day (cmd) and an additional
sewage treatment capacity of 2,000 cmd. SSTP can process
the septage that will be collected by vacuum trucks
from more than 86,000 households covering Makati,
Mandaluyong, Pasig and Taguig, as well as the municipalities
of San Juan and Pateros.
In Metro Manila, almost 85 percent of the population
utilizes septic tanks that can provide partial treatment
if the tanks are well maintained and desludged every
five to seven years. Otherwise, wastewater and sludge
will flow directly to the drainage network and further
pollute rivers.
"The completion of the septage treatment plant
is important and significant milestone for Manila
Water because the plant represents the Company's strong
resolve to preserve and enhance the environment,"
Manila Water president Tony Aquino said.
The World Bank, which provided the $64-million loan
for the MTSP, lauded Manila Water for the early completion
of the septage facility.
"We congratulate you for having completed the
project ahead of time," James Adam, World Bank
vice president for East Asia and the Pacific, told
Aquino during a visit to the SSTP early this month.
World Bank country director Joachim von Amsberg also
said the speedy completion of the septage plant in
Taguig will have strong impact as it will now be able
to serve some 3.3 million people living in the metropolis.
Amsberg stressed that the MTSP will help ensure that
domestic wastewater in Manila Water's concession area
is properly collected and treated before it flows
back to the waterways.
Studies show that domestic wastewater accounted for
58 percent of water pollution in Metro Manila, with
the remaining 42 percent attributed to industrial
establishments.
Apart from domestic septage collected from the households
by Manila Water's vacuum desludging tankers, the SSTP
will also process sewage coming from locators within
the FTI Complex through an exisiting sewer network.
Another Manila Water septage plant now nearing completion
in San Mateo, Rizal was scheduled for inauguration
next month.
To know more about SSTP, please visit www.manilawater.com/file_download/39.
