Manila Water empties over 39,000 septic tanks in the first half
EAST ZONE concessionaire Manila Water Co., Inc., reported on Wednesday having emptied a total of 39,712 septic tanks in the first half of the year.
Manila Water said it regularly provides desludging to its customers to “ensure that household and human wastes contained in their septic tanks, or septage, will be collected and properly treated in the company’s septage treatment plants before discharging back to bodies of water.”
The company said its desludging caravan goes around based on a schedule for each barangay and performs the service at no additional cost.
Dittie L. Galang, head of Manila Water’s corporate communications, said that majority of households rely on septic tanks for wastewater management instead of a sewer system.
She said, however, that even with proper maintenance, septic tanks only offer primary treatment, “leaving behind residual waste called septage.”
“Unfortunately, this septage can contaminate groundwater and municipal drainage systems, eventually finding its way into rivers and other water bodies,” Ms. Galang said.
Through its treatment plants, Ms. Galang said that the septage undergoes appropriate treatment before it is safely disposed. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
