DCWD conducts city-wide house-to-house surveys, dialogues on Septage Management Project

In preparation for the implementation of the Septage Management Program (SMP)– a joint venture of the Davao City Water District (DCWD) and the City Government of Davao –next year, the DCWD has started conducting an education and information campaign (IEC) on the project and the proper septage practices.

The SMP covers the desludging of waste water from households once every five years, the treatment of collected waste water in a Septage Treatment Plant, and the proper disposal of waste water and biosolids.

For a smoother implementation of the project, DCWD spokesperson Jovana Cresta Duhaylungsod said they have been distributing IEC materials about the SMP.

Dialogues in the barangays and other activities are also being simultaneously conducted.

“We need to make the people understand that they have to be ready for this,” she said in a press conference at the Royal Mandaya Hotel on Wednesday.

Since the first treatment plant will be located in Indangan, Duhaylungsod said the DCWD has conducted dialogues in Indangan and Panacan. More dialogues will be held throughout the city.

“We need to make the people understand the necessity of the project. At the same time, we also need them to prepare ang ilahang septic tanks, kasi based on the study na atoang na-gather from the City Health and other sources, not everyone in Davao City has septic tanks pa (yet). If ever naa man, dili pud standard (If ever there is, it is not the standard),” she added.

Standard septic tanks separately store water and solid wastes, said Duhaylungsod, however, non-standard septic tanks with two instead of three chambers can still be desludged, but only those with concrete flooring where water waste cannot seep into the soil.

Their information campaign also aims to change the current attitude of Dabawenyos towards proper septage management, said the DCWD spokesperson, as this is generally relegated as “an option in dire situations— meaning kung dili mapuno, dili muapaw, dili pa ta magpa-collect (meaning if it is not yet full then we also will not collect the waste) which should not be the case because it has a big impact not just on the environment but also on the health sa mata’g tao (of each person).”

House to house surveys are also being conducted by the DCWD to assess the readiness of the citizens for the project. The survey had been conducted in Barangays Cabantian, Indangan, Panacan, Sasa, and is ongoing in Buhangin.

Duhaylungsod said the survey is crucial in generating baseline data and in creating action plans to address the gaps found. She asked Dabawenyos to take the survey when they are visited by DCWD personnel in their homes.

The city’s first Septage Treatment Plant in Indangan is expected to start operations in the third quarter of 2023. Duhaylungsod said that as per Department of Health regulations, the five Septage Treatment Plants to be constructed will be “odor-free and noise-free.”

“This is going to be a milestone project of Davao City,” she said.

Although there are admittedly many challenges to the project, Duhaylungsod said the Septage and Sewerage Management Ordinance of Davao City will ensure a smoother adaption and implementation of the SMP.

The same ordinance mandates the City Health Office as the city government’s enforcing arm of the project. CIO