An “alarming” level of phosphate, total suspended solids (TSS) and fecal coliform has been found in the Davao River Basin, a study by the Hydrology for Environment, Life and Policy – Davao Network (HELP-Davao Network) stated.
Funded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the study, which covered observations between 2019 to 2022, found out that the Davao River Basin contains 0.6 to 0.8 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of phosphate, 2,705 to 3,164 mg/L of TSS, and 1.6 most probable number per 100 milliliters (MPN/100mL) of fecal coliform.
Normal values for phosphate must be less than 0.5 mg/L, TSS between 7.2 to 24 mg/L, and less than 1.1 MPN/100mL for fecal coliform, according to the Environmental Management Bureau – Water Quality Management Area, which is under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“Coliform bacteria, phosphate, and total suspended solids were assessed to have been within alarming rates,” Della Grace Bacaltos, Davao River Basin Management Alliance head, said in a speech during the Davao Watershed Stakeholders Summit 2023 held Wednesday, November 23, at the Bapa Benny Tudtud Auditorium in Ateneo de Davao University here.
Bacaltos, who is also from HELP Davao Network, said that the high rates of phosphate, TSS and fecal coliform could indicate that the river basin has been used “as a discharge area” by industries nearby.
Citing DENR-Davao Region’s data, she noted that there are 15 banana plantations, two slaughter houses, a dressing plant, and nine hospitals and clinics near the Davao River Basin.
The banana plantations alone would discharge 196,729 cubic meters of waste water annually to the Davao River, Bacaltos said.
At least 59 cases of diarrhea, 33 cases of cholera, and 26 cases of typhoid fever were recorded from residents near the Davao River as of 2021 due to the discharge of unwanted chemicals and particles, she said.
“The biological parameters may have caused the occurrence of water-borne diseases that affect the health of settlers (near the) Davao River Basin,” Bacaltos said.
In an effort to protect the Davao River Basin, summit organizers will ask the City Council to “support the declaration of the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed as a water resource protected area and its inclusion to the National Integrated Protected Areas System, and to support the stoppage of illegal infrastructure development and illegal selling of lands near the river basin.”
Stakeholders present in the summit included the Watershed Management Council, Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability, Inc., the academe, Mindanao Development Authority, DENR-Davao, the Obu-Manuvu Tribe, Bantay Bukid, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration – Davao Region, Philippine Eagle Center, Euro Generics International Philippines Inc., and various city officials.
The summit aims to also solicit strategies and facilitate communication among stakeholders in order to protect the Davao River Basin and nearby watersheds effectively and sustainably.
In 2011, the Watershed Protection, Conservation, and Management Ordinance of Davao City was passed to acknowledge the significance of watersheds in making Davao City a more sustainable and livable place for its residents.
The ordinance identified areas that are environmentally critical, as well as agricultural areas where non-tillage practices should be observed. It also established certain prohibited actions, including the conversion of land for any purpose and drilling for water, except for household or government use. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
