IMUS CITY, Cavite – To ensure that all establishments’ waste-water is in accordance with standards, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environment Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) is encouraging all local government units (LGUs) in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon (Calabarzon) provinces to pass an ordinance requiring establishments to secure Discharge Permits.
This is among the strategies in place as DENR-EMB intensifies its Manila Bay clean-up and rehabilitation drive, and to ensure strict enforcement of Republic Act 9275, or the Clean Water Act, said DENR-EMB Calabarzon Regional Director Noemi Paranada on Monday.
To ensure compliance with the Philippine Clean Water Act and the DENR Administrative Order No. 2016-08 (Water Quality Guidelines and General Effluent Standards of 2016), the DENR-EMB addresses the issue on liquid wastes discharging into Manila bay coming from industrial and commercial, including institutional establishments in Cavite.
The office embarked on stricter implementation of the Clean Water Act, survey and mapping of industries in the Calabarzon region and require submission of application of discharge permits; monitoring of water bodies and assessment of water quality (monitoring of bathing beaches and rivers), and the designation of Water Quality Management Areas (WQMAs).
“The designation of WQMAs is one of the strategies to effectively enforce the Clean Water Act and improve the water quality of water bodies through interventions and actions designed to address specific water quality issues,” Paranada said.
Right now, two WQMA Governing Board were created – one in Imus-YlangYlang-Rio Grande Rivers WQMA, and another in Cañas-Maalimango Rivers WQMA. The governing boards are tasked to address water quality degradation and introduce control measures to achieve improvement of water quality.
Paranada added the DENR-EMB is also addressing domestic wastes from residential areas where the agency is relying on the “full cooperation of the LGUs in the region to address pollution caused by domestic sources”.
The agency’s Calabarzon office now works on the conservation and reduction of excessive use of water from households, continuous liaison with LGUs and other government agencies in the development of mechanism to address domestic wastes, institutionalize reduction of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), intensify its Information and Education Campaign (IEC) and support the establishment of infrastructure projects such as a centralized wastewater treatment facility. (Gladys Pino/PNA)
