Capitol, Jica move for Cebu’s safe water

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/983079
• Monday, November 20, 2017

By Charles R. Pepito

The Province of Cebu and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) are moving toward the management of safe water in the province.

The nine-member Jica survey team visited Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III in a gesture that sets in motion positive deals to finally manage and dispose of Metro Cebu’s sewage mire.

A septic, sludge-treatment facility, to be constructed in three key areas of the Metro, is also seen to highlight the welcome arrangement.

Jica survey team head Mimpei Ito presented to Davide the initial report that evaluates the technical and economic viability of constructing these treatment facilities.

Septic sludge treatment refers to the process of disposing the slurry, residual, semisolid material produced as a by-product during sewage treatment.

The facility will convert household wastewater into a runoff that will be returned to the water cycle with minimal environmental impact.

Once the treated wastewater saturates into the soil, it will be free from harmful coliform bacteria, viruses and nutrients, making Cebu’s underground water source safe for consumption.

Once the practicability of the project is established, the Jica said the facilities will be constructed in preidentified areas of Metro Cebu identified as Center 1, which includes the area north of Cebu City and Mandaue City; Center 2 comprised of Cebu City south and Talisay City; while North 2 includes the towns of Consolacion, Liloan and Compostela.

These facilities will dispatch vacuum trucks that will collect septic-waste plumbing produced from households‘ (bathroom, kitchen drains and laundry).

Center 1 facility has the capacity to receive and treat waste from 212,000 households.

Center 2 can pull from 202,000 homes, while North 2 can accumulate for 88,000 houses. The JICA survey schedule, which is set to start this month, has eight stages.

The first phase includes survey preparation, first field survey and first analysis.

The second stage allows the second field survey and second analysis (to be held in Japan). The third field survey and the fourth field survey will include explanation of a draft report.

The final stage is the submission of a final report to the Jica and the Philippine Government.

The preparation in Cebu, Ito said, will run until April 2018, while survey analysis in Japan is scheduled from December 2017 to August 2018.

The draft report to Philippine officials is set for August 2018, while the submission of the final report will be in November 2018.

The report, however, did not specify the names of other Philippine officials, but mentioned Davide.

The Jica, as well as the official development assistance loans and aids, granted last year the Philippine Government’s request for the construction of a sludge-treatment project in Metro Cebu.