AN OFFICIAL from the Davao City Water District (DCWD) revealed that the water district is planning to operationalize its Septage Management Program (SMP) treatment plant by the third quarter of 2024.
Jovana Cresta Duhaylungsod, spokesperson of DCWD, said during the AFP-PNP Press Conference, on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at the Royal Mandaya Hotel that they are also targeting to complete the treatment plant in the third quarter of this year.
She added that they already conducted public hearings on the treatment plant in 2023, and have proposed P3.43 per cubic fee that will be tied to the client's water bill.
“So kung mo- [if you will] consume 10 cubic karong bulana [this month], with the proposal that is times P3.43 so P34.30 ang [is the] additional,” she said.
Duhaylungsod also said that the proposal for the fee is undergoing review with the Local Water Utilities Administration, the water districts’ regulating agency; hence, they have not yet implemented it.
DCWD created the Rapid Assessment Team to conduct surveys in homes so they could generate baseline data on how prepared customers and non-customers are. The survey will show whether customers are compliant with the standard septic tank of three chambers. However, the local government unit has given a leeway on tanks that only have two chambers, considering that building one three-chamber septic tank is expensive.
“Daghan man gyud sa Davao nga naka-renovate na ug balay, ang septic tank kay naa na sulod sa sala, nasa kwarto and once na mag dislodge mi muagi gyud amoang hose didto. So once we conduct the survey ingnan na pod nato ang customer ug unsa ang angay nga i-modify para ma-increase ilahang readiness (There are a lot of Dabawenyos that have renovated their houses, and their septic tanks are under their living rooms or their rooms and once we dislodge the tanks our hose will pass there. So once we conduct the survey, we will tell the customers what they should modify to increase their readiness),” she said.
Duhaylungsod explained that not all septic tanks in the city will be dislodged immediately once the treatment plant is operational. There will be a five-year dislodging schedule, and within that cycle, one client will only be dislodged once.
Based on proximity, District 2 will be the district that will first benefit from the treatment plant.
The water district hopes to add two more treatment plants in the city in the next five years to cater to all the houses.
The treatment plant project aligns with the City Ordinance 0363-10 series of 2019 of Davao City, otherwise known as the Davao City Sewerage and Septage Management Ordinance. The treatment facility is a partnership between the City Government of Davao and part of the sanitation services under the DCWD’s Septage Management Program.
The Septage Treatment Facility will occupy a 3,300 square meter lot in Barangay Indangan. It is the first government-owned treatment plant in the city.
It was originally scheduled for completion at the end of 2023 and is expected to help with the wastewater situation in Davao City. RGP
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