BAGUIO CITY – The results of the Pre-Feasibility Study on the Green and Integrated Wastewater Management of the city government conducted by the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) would help to the city address its sanitation needs towards improving the environment and public health.
Mayor Mauricio Domogan said thus as he commended the CDIA team led by Dr. James Arthur for the completion of the study during the draft final report presentation last Feb. 9.
Dr. Arthur said the study aimed to prepare a Strategy and Investment Program for Wastewater Management and Drainage for the city until the year 2035 and Pre-feasibility Studies for Priority Actions from 2016 to 2025.
The program and priority actions are envisioned to improve the city’s environment and public health through improved drainage, sanitation and wastewater management infrastructure and enhanced capacity in urban planning and management.
The study came up with Strategy, Roadmap and Investment Program for sanitation, wastewater management, storm-water drainage and flood control, pre-feasibility studies for short- and medium-term (0-5 and 5-10 year) projects and programs in these sectors, and an associated capacity building and institutional strengthening plan.
City environment and parks management officer Cordelia Lacsamana said the study will greatly help the city as it provided a “pathway” to tackle its wastewater management program, sewerage and septage system as well as urban drainage and flood control system with its detailed analysis and data.
Since the study provided inputs on climate resilience, Lacsamana said the results can be integrated in city development plans including the City Land Use Plan which is crucial considering the city’s vulnerabilities.
Lacsamana said the study is significant particularly in the city’s thrust to strengthen water governance by exploring the potential of treated wastewater as solution to water scarcity which is projected to reach critical level by 2030.
“We have to rethink our current strategies on wastewater management. We don’t want to double the projected disaster caused by flooding, pollution and water shortage,” she said.
Among the strategies presented in the study are the improvement of storm water management through wastewater and watershed management, upgrading of old sewerlines, upgrading of the sewer treatment plant and construction of new ones.
In the wastewater management and drainage roadmap, the following strategies were present for the city government to pursue from 2016-2030: multi-hazard mapping; land-use transportation plan and improvement of flood preparedness and community response; master plan for watershed, wastewater management and drainage; augmentation of BSTP treatment capacity at Sanitary Camp; Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) and septage treatment plant at Lower Rock Quarry; Balili and Galiano catchments sewer replacement and extension program; rehabilitate or replace communal septic tanks with DEWATS technologies; sewer extension program and DEWATS for other catchments;
Improve discharge efficiency of the sinkholes and critical drainage sections and introduce sustainable drainage system or SUDS approach to urban drainage works;
Execution of a memorandum of agreement with the Baguio Water District on wastewaster management to rationalize roles and finally the forging of a metropolitan engagement through the BLISTT.
Dr. Arthur said the sanitation and wastewater management target is 100 percent of wastewaster of the city will be collected and treated by 2035.
He said this will result to clean rivers, improved water table, less health cost, rivers used for irrigation and recreational purposes without any health hazards and cleaner rivers downstream./A Refuerzo
