Dagupan’s rivers in “sorry state”
THE rivers of Dagupan City, known for its aquaculture industry, are in a “sorry state” due mainly to indiscriminate dumping of waste and defecation by informal settlers into the rivers.
City officials pointed this out during a seminar-workshop held recently to discuss the problems plaguing the Sinolocan and Pantal rivers.
Lead agencies involved in the workshop were the City Health Office, Department of Agriculture, Pollution Control Division and other local government departments with the assistance of a World Bank consultant.
City Health Officer Leonard Carbonell and City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina cited the lack or absence of toilets among informal settlers and households along riverbanks.
Other workshop participants added that lack of concern among residents and their failure to comply with sanitation rules as defined in the Solid Waste Management Ordinance are among the causes of serious water pollution in the city’s rivers and tributaries.
Carbonell said measures are now being adopted to see to for the strict implementation of the waste segregation ordinance in all barangays.
Recently, a waste-management campaign was launched in barangays Calmay, Pugaro, Bonuan Gueset and Pantal, which includes the zero-defecation program.
The second phase of the workshop, scheduled this week, will cover topics on how to protect environmental resources.(CIO)
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