Water supply, septage management projects planned for Metro Cebu
A scale model of the proposed treatment plant. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)
The Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) will commission next year two major projects that will improve water supply and wastewater management in parts of Metro Cebu.
These are the P600-million Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system and the P100-million septage treatment plant in Cordova town, which is seen to positively impact on the quality of water and the environment.
Engineer Emmanuel Espina, MCWD corporate planning specialist, said the septage management project in barangay San Miguel, Cordova town is expected to be completed and operational by March next year.
It will serve the entire Mactan Island, he said as he unveiled a scale model of the facility in a press conference yesterday.
Once the plant starts operating, Espina said MCWD consumers in Cordova town and Lapu-Lapu City can avail of desludging services from Envirokonsult Services, Inc. for P3,000 payable in five years or P50 per month.
“Our septage management involves three stages—desludging, treatment, and disposal,” he said. The utility signed a five-year contract with contractor Envirokonsult, which will provide the trucks, equipment and desludging services.
The plant includes a fully mechanized septage reception facility and has a sealed metal chute and conveyor system, equipped with a series of belt screens for removing coarse solids to fine debris.
It also features a centrate treatment facility, an equalization tank where microorganisms clean the water by “digesting” organic pollutants.
The plant will be able to produce “Class C” water, the kind that may be used for gardening, washing of trucks, or for discharging to nature.
Espina said they will see to it that there will be proper treatment and disposal of desludged septage unlike existing private desludgers that dispose of waste by throwing it into drainage networks, rivers, and creeks.
“This will threaten and pollute our water sources and the sea,” he said.
After the five-year contract period, MCWD has the option to buy the facility and take over its operations or renew the agreement with Envirokonsult.
Meanwhile, the SCADA system is expected to be completed by the end of March next year and operational by the first half of 2016.
Engineer Michael Diola, OIC manager of MCWD’s production division, said the system will enable the utility firm to respond to consumer complaints faster and make water distribution in the service areas more efficient.
“This will also enable the water district to minimize water losses as part of its water conservation efforts,” he said.
The SCADA system will help MCWD identify areas with low water pressure and act on it promptly.
Similar to a traffic system that ensures efficient traffic flow, MCWD will get real-time data on water pressure and reservoir supply as well as remotely switch on or off pumps and close or open valves.
“This will also help MCWD manage its non-revenue water as it can immediately send a team to spot a leak once there is a sudden drop in water pressure and address the problem even before the consumers feel it or complain about it,” said Diola.
The project is funded by a P679-million grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and was awarded to Japan-based contractor, Hitachi-Yokogawa JV, last January.
MCWD spent about P60 million for customs taxes and duties of equipment.
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