Water Pollution: Pasig River

Background or History of the Problem

A hundred years ago, renowned American urban planner Daniel Burnham compared Manila Bay
to the bay of Naples, the Pasig River to the winding river of Paris and Manila’s esteros to the
canals of Venice.

Considered the cradle of the Tagalog civilization, the river was witness both to significant events
in the country’s history and to daily lives of people in the fledging city of Manila.

Nowadays, however, Pasig is no more than a ghost of its old self. Apart from water lilies and
janitor fish, hardly any life form survives in its murky recesses. Many of its tributaries are
clogged by garbage from Metro Manila’s households.

From being a recreation venue and a source of food and livelihood, the river became the
'dumping ground' of informal settlers who live along the banks of the river and its tributaries, as
well as by almost all establishments surrounding it.

The river, is also the catch basin of floodwaters from several tributaries from upstream areas of
the Manila, conduit to mitigate the flooding in most areas of Metro Manila and its dredging
would increase the carrying capacity of the river.

Lined up along both river banks are several oil depots, factories, and huge slums, producing most
of the waste that flows on it. Ecologists have already pronounced the Pasig River as dead and
incapable of sustaining marine life.
Narration of the Problem

Pasig River considered the toilet bowl of Manila

An estimated 65% of the pollutants in the Pasig river come from households,
30% from the industrial sector and 5% from solid wastes.

Metro Manila’s 11 million-plus residents, according to studies, produce

roughly 440 tons of domestic wastewater every day. The river became the
city’s toilet bowl.

Worse, as the city continues to wage its battle against solid waste, the river
also became the primary dumping ground. Currently, Metro Manila is
reportedly producing as much as 7,000 tons or 31 cubic meters of trash per
day. Out of this, about 1,500 tons is dumped daily (and illegally) on private
land, creeks, rivers and the Manila Bay.

One river clean up effort after another failed as the source of the pollution.
Metro Manila’s population of over 10 million individuals continued to
relentlessly dump waste and garbage into the river and its tributaries.

The problem has gotten so bad that some parts of the San Juan river, one of
the Pasig’s main tributaries, are already emitting methane.

Pasig River Rehabilitation

The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) and the ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. will
launch a project to transform the Pasig River into a “zero toxic and clean river zone.”
The PRRC and ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. are forging a partnership to resuscitate the dying
Pasig River through “clean river zones,” believing that the best way to address the problem is to
stop the discharge of toxic waste into the already polluted river.

“Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig,” the seven-year project would focus on the improvement of the
physical appearance of the river and create awareness among residents about the sensitive river
system to stop pollution around the waterway.

The project involves fund-raising campaigns, education campaigns, the insulation of materials in
recovering facilities within the river’s zones, and the relocation of 4,000 informal settlers along
the river.

Other organizations and sponsors like Plantex Philippines, which manufactures organic cleaning
solutions, Sagip Pasig, Bantay Kalikasan, and the Clean and Green Movement, which reportedly
donated P6-million.

The estimated target of this project is 700 million.

To achieve this, solid waste management facilities will be set up in the area to ensure that all
wastes, biodegradable and non-biodegradable, will be properly segregated and composted or
recycled. One incentive for communities to get involved is the income they are expected to
generate from making different products like pails, table tops, chairs, tiles, and bricks out of
shredded plastics and melted styrofoam.

In addition to this, Bantay Kalikasan proposes to the Local Government Units a good
resettlement program coupled with a viable livelihood program for the informal settlers along the
tributaries.

Vision of the new Pasig River

Analysis,Reaction,Comment

It is really embarrassing to all of us that we are the only ones in the ASEAN region who have not
been able to address this particular problem. If you look at all the metropolitan cities around the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ask our neighbors, there’s a river that runs
across all of these cities, and all of these rivers have had the same problems that we’ve had in
Pasig river. Bangkok, Taiwan, Jakarta have solved this kind of problem.

Reference:

Manila Bulletin

Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Philippine Star

ABS – CBN News