THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Monday said it will compel the local government unit of Malay town in Aklan to strictly enforce an ordinance requiring residents and business operators in Boracay Island to be connected to the sewerage system.
“The local government of Malay has enacted Ordinance 307 in 2012, which mandates businesses and residents to connect to the sewerage system of Boracay. The law is there. What we want to see is for it to be strictly enforced,” Secretary Roy Cimatu said.
Despite the measure, Boracay Island has been hounded with the issue of untreated waste water being dumped into the drainage system of the island, instead of into the sewerage system, he said.
The untreated waste water containing harmful bacteria and other substances ends up in the open waters in and around Boracay.
“Boracay’s sewage is the number one problem in the island, and it requires urgent action from us. We are giving companies not connected to the sewer lines one month to link up. If they fail to do so, they will face sanctions,” Cimatu said.
According to Boracay Island Water Corp., one of the two water concessionaires in Boracay and the operator of the island’s sewerage infrastructure, 195 of its 578 business customers are not connected to the sewer lines, while only 5 percent of their 4,331 residential customers are connected to the sewers.
On the other hand, customers of the Boracay Tubi System Inc. are not connected to the sewer lines as it offers to siphon waste water from them into the company’s sewerage treatment plant.
“Companies release a huge volume of waste water so it is important for us to crack down on them. And we do not know if these 195 establishments are causing problems with the island’s drainage system,” Cimatu said.
“For residents, we will help them connect to the sewers if possible, or provide alternatives for them in cooperation with the water concessionaires,” he added.
Meanwhile, the agency’s Region 7 office has created a foreshore area task force in Cebu to enforce environmental law and protect the tourism sites of Mactan Island in Cebu and Panglao Island in Bohol.
“We do not want the same situation in Boracay to happen in Panglao and Mactan Islands. Together with the local government units and Environmental Management Bureau-Region 7, the task force will be monitoring on the establishments’ compliance to environmental laws, rules and regulations” regional director Gilbert Gonzales said.
The islands are two of the most frequently visited sites for the tourism industry, he cited.