Saturday, April 19, 2008 City debunks environment office findings on Banica River
DUMAGUETE City Administrator Dominador Dumalag has debunked reports saying the Banica River is the second dirtiest in the whole of Negros Oriental.
He said the City Government has done already a lot of interventions to reduce, if not minimize, the pollution of the river that also connects to the nearby Valencia town.
Dumalag's reaction came several days after Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas released the results of their research pointing out that Banica river in Dumaguete City is the second dirtiest river in the whole province of Negros Oriental.
The EMB researchers said they found out that Banica has nine million contaminations of coliform, second only to Tamagong river in Sta. Catalina town with 24 million MPN/100 ml contamination.
They said Sipocong River in Bais City is same with Banica, placing second.
Tanjay River and Ocoy River tied in the third spot with 2,400 total coliform contaminations.
Capitol officials defended the results of the EMB research and study.
Mercy Teves of the Environment and Natural Resources Management Division (ENRMD) in Negros Oriental said the study is credible enough and was done in cooperation with the German Technical Services (GTZ).
Of the 13 sampling sites, research shows that Guihulngan river has the lowest coliform contamination level with 2,300 MPN/100 ml, Teves added.
PROVINCIAL Environment Natural Resources (Penro) Officer Antonio Cabrido Jr. also said that 95 percent of samples taken from rivers in the province reached a high degree of total coliform contamination.
But Dumalag pointed out that samplings were conducted from 1995-2004, before the transfer of the city slaughterhouse to Barangay Bajumpandan.
Cabrido said based on the data collected between 1995 to 2004, 95 percent of the sampling sites along the Negros Oriental rivers, have reached such a high degree of total coliform contamination that only a classification, according to the worst possible DENR water quality (Class D), would be applicable.
Dumalag however said that after 2004, several interventions have been made, with the help of various groups and non-government organizations like the Banica River Foundation, Friends of Banica River and the Environment, and the Metro Dumaguete Road Runners Club, in rehabilitating the river.
Cabrido further stressed that data shows not even one sampling station in the province could qualify for Class B especially in terms of microbiological contamination.
It also shows high fecal coliform contamination (directly derived from human or animal waste) from all 13 sampling sites, which are way beyond Class B water quality standards.
In the same records, Tamogong River again has the highest fecal coliform with nine million MPN/100 ml.
It was followed by Banica river with 2,400,000; Pagatban and La Libertad with 1,300,000; Tanjay with 540,000; and Ocoy with 240,000.
The city administrator frowned on the report and said that DENR data should have been updated in fairness to local government units that did their part in addressing the problem.
In Negros Oriental, the greenest and cleanest river is found in the municipality of Amlan. It is ranked second throughout Central Visayas region next to Bohol River.
"A gram of human feces has 10 million viruses, one million bacteria, one thousand parasite cysts and 100 parasite eggs," a DENR official said, explaining that humans and animals are not safe in these rivers as they may also contribute to the water-borne diseases.
Chief of Dumaguete City Planning Development Office Engineer Josephine Antonio agreed with Dumalag and refuted statements from the DENR and questioned the research data.
She understood the basis of the data and expressed credibility on the team who conducted the study but she asked the specific sampling site in Banica river where they picked samples and the specific date of the study.
She admitted that on or before 1995 to 1998, the lower part of the river, particularly the boundaries along Sitio Tinago, Barangay Poblacion 1 and Sitio Canday-ong, Barangay Calindagan was contaminated due to the presence of a slaughterhouse.
The slaughterhouse was first located in Lower Luke Wright, Barangay Poblacion 1, but was transferred to Barangay Bajumpandan in 1999. It was awarded a double A for three consecutive years.
The city has led some non-government organizations to rehabilitate Banica river, however, the controlled dumpsite in Barangay Candau-ay may have contribute the contamination of the river, she admitted.
"The data is not believable unless the team showed her the specific sampling sites and the exact date of the study was conducted" she stressed.
Cabrido stood pat on his point and said the result of the research is reliable since it was conducted in cooperation with GTZ, a foreign research outfit. (EBS)
