BAGUIO CITY—SM City Baguio launched a facility that will convert rainwater into potable water and help contribute to the city’s water conservation and recycling efforts.
“The mall’s rainwater filtration facility will supply the mall with enough potable water that can be redistributed to mall tenants for various uses including washing, cleaning and safe for drinking, to help reduce sourcing from the communities’ water table, leaving more water supply for the Baguio community to use,” SM Supermalls senior vice president Bien Mateo said.
SM has been recycling water for decades since the 1990s, but the new water-saving innovation is part of SM Prime’s sustainability program towards responsible consumption and carbon footprint reduction, said Mateo.
“We invest in water conservation technology to eliminate water wastage and adopt stricter measures to reduce consumption. More innovations are being done to recycle more water and filter more rainwater across the properties and estates of SM Prime,” he said.
The real estate developer recycled a total of 3.58 million cubic meters of water across its properties in the Philippines last year.
SM Prime installed water catchment basins in 25 malls as of June 2023 to help prevent flooding and soil erosion during sudden high volumes of rainfall.
The rainwater catchment system installed in SM City Baguio can draw and store 51 million liters of rainwater a year, based on 2022 PAGASA rainfall volume for Baguio City.
This is equivalent to 20 Olympic-size swimming pools, 13.4 million gallons of drinking water, 373,510 full baths and 672,318 10-minute showers.
Rainwater is collected in the tank and treated for reuse within the mall. To make rainwater safe for use, the harvested water goes through a six-step treatment processes including multimedia filtration, water softener, activated carbon, ultra-filtration, reverse osmosis and ozonization.
The treated rainwater from the tank will be re-distributed as supply for the mall tenants for various uses including washing, cleaning and safe for drinking.
Officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of Cordillera Administrative Region acknowledged the efforts of the mall in providing a long-term solution amidst the growing concern on water security.
“We are grateful for your attention to the predicament on water scarcity in Baguio City,” DENR regional director of CAR Jean Borromeo said.
“Water scarcity is one of the biggest issues that Baguio is facing today because deep wells have already dried up the city’s water table. It is good to see how SM Prime is taking its responsibility to the environment seriously, practically addressing the biggest environmental threat to Baguio City,” Borromeo said.
“This will greatly help reduce sourcing from the city’s water table and more water supply for the community to use. Not only does SM considers what’s best for its shopping customers, but also take into consideration the importance of water security as one of its priorities,” she said.
The rainwater filtration facility is one of SM Prime Holding’s initiatives to its commitment towards sustainable development in the communities it serves.