What does Baguio City do with its wastewater?
by Kate Merindo | May 20, 2024
During the dry season when Baguio residents experience a shortage of water supply, the question “Where can I get water I can use?” often overshadows the question “Where does my used water end up?”
Understandably, it may not be an immediate thought that comes to mind when one wakes to a sputtering faucet, or perhaps upon watching a bucket get filled with caramel-colored water. Most of the time, it’s easy to forget where used-up water goes after every awaited bath, wash, or toilet flush. However, the second question mentioned above may be just as important.
According to an Inquirer news article published last March 6, Baguio City officials are deliberating an P80 tax for visiting tourists, which will be used to pay a part of a proposed P2 billion bank loan. The article further states that this loan is for securing a “new waste treatment system”.
Two billion pesos is undeniably not a small amount. This alone can make one wonder why there is even a need to manage wastewater. What even is wastewater, and where does it go?
What wastewater is
Engr. Wilbur Suanding from the Wastewater and Hazardous Waste Management Division (WHWMD) under the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO), explained the meaning of wastewater in an interview dated May 3. He said that wastewater, in Layman’s terms, is used water.
“Anything that is used from clean water is already considered as wastewater,” Engr. Suanding emphasized. He also said that wastewater is synonymous with municipal wastewater or sewage, industrial water, and stormwater.
Engr. Suanding outlined that there are different types of wastewater present in the city. Domestic wastewater comes from households, usually generated by activities such as doing laundry and preparing food. Commercial wastewater is discharged from businesses like restaurants, shopping malls, and hotels. Meanwhile, Industrial wastewater is sourced from the activities of manufacturers and industries such as slaughterhouses.
Why the need to manage wastewater?
Engr. Suanding mentioned that wastewater management is the process of treating or managing wastewater to “reduce its contaminants to acceptable levels”. Doing so makes the wastewater safe before releasing it to the environment.
“This is to avoid any possible presence of nuisance or the occurrence of soil pollution or land pollution to the environment,” he expounded. He also stated that proper wastewater management helps protect water supplies, and public health, and decrease water pollution.
Where does wastewater go?
From the sources mentioned above, wastewater can flow to different destinations depending on the system being employed by a residence or an industry.
If a building already has a septic tank, private owners are responsible for managing it, in addition to the building’s plumbing system on sewage. The said buildings can then be connected to a public sewer system, or a system of sewer pipes and manholes installed in the city, if accessible. Otherwise, the treatment happens on-site in the individual sewage disposal system within the property.
Meanwhile, some properties are directly connected to the public sewer system instead of having a privately owned septic tank.
Afterwards, public sewer systems connect the wastewater to the city’s main treatment facility, the Baguio Sewage Treatment Plant (BSTP). Then, the treated wastewater is discharged into the Balili River, with some being used to flush sewer manholes in the city and clean the facilities, and water plants within the compound.
What is the current state of wastewater management in the city?
Engr. Suanding, referring to available statistics, said there are currently around 10,590 legal connections to the city’s sewer network. Consulting previous studies, he stated that about 90% of the city’s population use privately-owned septic tanks as of February 2021, while less than 1% use communal septic tanks. However, no data was provided on the percentage of individuals not connected to the following systems or those who directly disperse their wastewater into waterways.
According to Engr. Suanding, for those connected to the public sewer system, the average daily wastewater discharge from the facility to the Balili River is 5,540 cubic meters (cu.m.) in 2023. A challenge faced during coverage is the occasional exfiltration, or the overflowing of wastewater out of a manhole and to the environment. Engr. Suanding states that exfiltration is caused by blockages (mainly from fat, oil, and grease), which is claimed to emit odor, cause public inconvenience, and may contribute to damage to the environment.
Aside from BSTP’s coverage, another challenge is the city’s septage management. In a Baguio City Public Information Office (PIO) post, Mayor Benjamin Magalong reminds residents to be more disciplined in managing septage waste. This is because some barangay residents still discharge the contents of their septic tanks directly into creeks and rivers, despite this violating the city’s Environment Code (Ordinance No. 18 series of 2016), among others.
For instance, in an interview last May 2 with Camp 7 Brgy. Captain Angelina Ramos confirmed that there are unidentified individuals who spill the contents of their septic tanks into the environment, particularly the Bued River.
“May tawag kung minsan pag umulan, pero di mo naman alam kung sino, kung saan galing,” Ramos said in dismay. No filed reports were presented as of writing, but Ramon estimated that there were about one to two complaints received this year.
“Hindi mo naman madisiplina ang mga tao dahil sa pera,” Ramon asserted.
“Kung meron sanang libre na galing sa gobyerno, marami, hindi siguro problema yung nagbubuhos sila during tag-ulan diba. ‘Yan ang alam kong solusyon,” she added in a hopeful tone, pertaining to free septic tanks and desludging services. According to the city’s Environment Code, septage desludging is usually done every 3 — 5 years, or when the sludge volume is already “one-third (⅓) of the total volume of the septic tank”.
What other responses are being made by the local government?
Aside from the proposed tourism fee for improvements in the waste treatment system, one response is CEPMO’s initiative to implement a “one-strike policy” concerning the issuance of notice of violations (NOV), based on the city PIO. This NOV will be issued to violators who illegally dispose of their “excrement and sewage into the open environment”, having to pay a P5,000 administrative penalty. In addition, they also have to undergo corrective measures within three days to avoid facing legal actions from the city government.
Currently, the wastewater management system of the city is facing challenges in terms of coverage and compliance from the residents, which warrants actions from both parties to be taken. In this case, perhaps saying “out of sight, out of mind” will not necessarily be the right course of action — for wastewater, albeit used and already down the drain, still greatly affects the environment and the lives of the people living in it.
