Wastewater

A river suitable for fishing, boating and as a fresh water source, after treatment – that can’t be the Pasig River. But it can be, according to the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission.

National hero Jose Rizal, in his novels, wrote about fishing, boating and picnics on the river, marred occasionally by crocodiles. Even former president Fidel Ramos talked about swimming in the Pasig in his youth, so the river degradation must be reversible. This has been done in other countries, which turned rivers polluted heavily during the Industrial Age into waterways clean enough if not for fish to thrive, then at least for recreational activities and tourism.

Some improvements have been achieved in recent years; a ride on a river ferry will attest to this. But the task is challenging and the work must be sustained, with the cooperation of riverside communities. Political will is also needed to relocate informal settlers along riverbanks, their shanties perched precariously over the water, with the river serving as their household sewerage and garbage dump. During heavy rains, the shanties are washed away by floods, leading to injuries and sometimes death.

The Pasig has become a giant repository of household and indus- trial wastewater, but this need not mean the death of the river. Treating and recycling wastewater is the theme in the observance today of World Water Day.

Clearing waterways is the task of local government units including barangay offices. Over the weekend the Department of the Interior and Local Government said six mayors of Metro Manila must do their part in reviving the Pasig River. DILG Secretary Ismael Sueno identified the cities of Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pateros and Taguig.

Water flows freely through the cities so any cleanup can succeed only if the effort is coordinated. Las Piñas, for example, can pour resources into a sustained campaign to keep its waterways clean, but if neighboring Parañaque lacks the same resolve, its river garbage ends up in Las Piñas.

Barangay officials are tasked to prevent squatting, especially in high-risk areas such as waterways. Instead in some slums, barangay officials are the landlords themselves as well as neighborhood pushers, as recent events have shown. Mayors must exercise resolve in clearing waterways of informal settlers, and then coordinate efforts to treat and reuse wastewater. It will save lives and revive rivers, starting with the Pasig.