As the construction of the Septage Treatment Facility continues, the partners in the Septage and Sewerage Management Project continue to iron out details of the operations of the septage management program. To assist this process, on May 12 and13, 2011, USAID sponsored a study tour of the wastewater treatment facilities in Dumaguete and Bayawan Cities for key members of the government, civil service and Rotary Club of San Fernando, La Union. The purpose of the trip was to facilitate sharing of knowledge and experience between LGUs. Dumaguete City and Bayawan City have both already constructed septage treatment facilities and are at varying stages in implementing their septage management programs. In Dumaguete, the participants toured the Septage Treatment Facility, which is already operational and processing its full capacity of 80 cubic meters of sludge per day. They also saw the wastewater treatment facility at the City Market. On May 13 the participants travelled to Bayawan City to see the sanitary landfill and septage treatment facility, a wastewater treatment facility for the Fishermen's Village, and a biodiesel processing plant.
Mayor Pablo Ortega expressed his enthusiasm about the tour and his commitment to sanitation in San Fernando. “We learned a lot by coming here, and seeing their systems,” he said. On the topic of septage management, Mayor Ortega went on to say, “People often ask me, 'why are you doing this now?' Several barangays in San Fernando already have groundwater so polluted that you cannot dig an uncontaminated deep well. If we start now we can prevent it from getting even worse.”
Vice Mayor Gualberto also was convinced of the value of the tour. “This is very important for us, we need to compare our [sanitation] ordinance with other LGUs, and identify good practices that we can learn from. In this way we can ensure our septage management project is feasible and workable for us,” he said.
For more photos from the tour, visit our facebook page.
