City needs P20M for sewage

Monday, January 30, 2012

CEBU City’s Department of Public Services (DPS) wants to rehabilitate the 31-year-old sewage treatment plant (STP) at the North Reclamation Area (NRA).

The STP’s rehabilitation is estimated to cost P20 million.

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DPS Chief Engr. Dionisio Gualiza said the STP will be used to treat the waste coming from the Cebu City abattoir, which is located near the facility.

The facility will also be used to treat septic wastes and commercial wastes.

Gualiza said there is a need for the STP, which was built in 1980 yet, to be rehabilitated, considering that private haulers in the city are no longer allowed to dispose of their septic wastes at the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill after this was closed.

The 15.4-hectare sanitary landfill was closed by the City Government to all forms of dumping last December.

In an earlier interview, Gualiza said the STP at the NRA is not in good condition to operate.

He said the facility is no longer operational after it was damaged in 2007, when the blower of the pump exploded.

The City allocated P3 million that time for the repair of the facility, but the treatment plant has not improved.

The management of the SM City Cebu complained to City Hall about the stench near the facility, which came from wastewater that was left untreated because of the defective equipment. 

The deterioration of the STP is also caused by the absence of a manual on how to effectively manage and run the facility, Gualiza said.

Asked if there is already a budget for the rehabilitation of the STP, Gualiza said there is none yet.

The DPS chief said they included a P20-million appropriation in their proposed P321.7-million budget for 2012 but it was not approved. The City Council has only approved a P199.7-million appropriation for their department.

So the project will be implemented this year, Gualiza said they plan to include the P20-million fund for the rehabilitation of the STP in a supplemental budget of the City.

The rehabilitation of the STP will be done by the City in partnership with the Metropolitan Cebu Water District.