Cavite takes action against water pollution

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TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite – Local government authorities in this city have started efforts to clean rivers in the lowland and upland districts of the province following reports that some tributaries are contaminated by waste and toxic chemicals.

Engineer Rolinio P. Pozas, head of the Provincial Government-Environment and Natural Resources Office (PG-ENRO), confirmed that river water clean-up was intensified this year.

River dredging and clearing operations were relaunched in Bacoor District in January as a course of action against floods and pollution in the area.

During the launch, waste traps were installed along waterways bounding several barangays (villages) in the district.

One of the notable pieces of evidence of water pollution in the province were the “fish kills” in Rosario municipality in 2014 and 2015.

Initial findings showed that human waste, toxic waste, and lack of water oxygen as the causes of the “fish kills” in the municipality. Some factories and residential houses along the river, among others, were suspected to be main sources of pollutants.

The Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office, Export Processing Zone Authority, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources conducted separate investigations but have yet to reveal the exact pollution source until this day.

In an interview on Friday (Feb. 10), Pozas confirmed that the waters in one river in the province was found to have coliform bacteria and that he suspected that a sewage being placed beside the riverside as the main “culprit.”

The PG-ENRO chief said monitoring, water testing and treatment are being conducted regularly every year. He also said more waterway measures, including the trash trap installation, will also be implemented starting 2017.

In the same interview, Pozas also said not all tap water in the province are safe for drinking. He said it would be best to boil the tap water first prior to drinking.