2 of 3 sites for waste treatment plant out
Construction of a Septage Treatment Plant (STP) in Umapad in Mandaue City will no longer push through because of a high level of methane gas in its former landfill.
During a presentation yesterday of the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board (MCDCB), Engr. Emmanuel Es- pina, senior corporate specialist of Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), said it would be too risky to establish the facility in an area where methane gas is present.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has given a $20-million grant for the establishment of STPs in three areas.
MCWD has also initially identified the Inayawan landfill and an existing plant, which is located in the North Reclamation Area in Barangay Mabolo in Cebu City, as potential sites of the treatment plants.
Inayawan is no longer feasible due to the amount of garbage in the facility, Espina said.
As for Umapad, an exploration showed that the solid waste there still extends about seven to 10 meters high and the ground would need to be improved.
The dumpsite was closed just two years ago, and the risks of fire or explosion due to combustible gas still remain, Espina said.
Under rules set by the Ministry of Environment Law of Japan, a waste disposal site should be closed for at least 10 years before it can be considered stable enough and safe to use.
“Because of these findings, we have to cancel the Umapad site... Based on experience, we have learned that it’s not ideal to construct the STP in a landfill,” Espina said.
The three STPs are supposed to treat waste from Cebu City, Mandaue City, Talisay City, Consolacion, Liloan, and Compostela. According to the Jica study, 90 percent of the households in the six LGUs have septic tanks but only about four percent of these were de-sludged last year.
Because of the findings, Espina said, one proposal is to increase the expected capacity of the Mabolo site, which would allow it to accept sludge for treatment until 2030.
The hope is that the Cebu City Government and Cebu Provincial Government will fast-track a land exchange deal to allow proponents to start working on the project. The target is for the STP to be operational by 2021.