Del Pan Bridge area of Pasig River found to have high fecal coliform level
A PORTION of the Pasig River under the Del Pan Bridge in Manila has been found to have extra high amounts of fecal coliform, based on a water quality test conducted by the monitoring team from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Philippine Coast Guard.
Documents from the DENR showed that the fecal coliform count in the river hit 17 million most probable number per 100 milliliters (MPN/100 mL). The DENR standard for Class C waters or those used for boating or fishing stands at only 200 MPN/100 mL.
The DENR explained that water bodies with high levels of fecal coliform or waste found in humans and animals implies improper sanitary waste disposal. It added that this indicates contamination of human or animal waste from various residential and commercial areas.
The DENR-Coast Guard joint team conducted the monitoring test to look for possible sources of water pollution.
Among the possible polluters include domestic waste from informal settlers and traditional sailing boats called batil. — Angelica Y. Yang
