Dagupan task force to probe mine tailings impact
A TASK force has been formed by Dagupan Acting Mayor Belen Fernandez to look at the effects on the city’s rivers and fishponds of the reported mine tailings upstream that affected the San Roque Multi-purpose reservoir in San Manuel town.
Mine waste was dumped into the reservoir following the tailing pond accident in Philex Mining Corporation’s Padcal copper-gold operations in Itogon, Benguet at the height of the monsoon rains in August 2012.
Engr. Romeo Rosario, city planning and development officer and assigned as task force head, Rosario stressed that the aquaculture industry in the city, known as the Bangus Capital, should wait for their report next week and not jump into conclusions.
Rosario said the task force will submit its recommendations soon as the results of the water test are out.
The task force, created by Fernandez after a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) official presented a report on mine tailing, is looking into three to four heavy metals like mercury, cadmium and lead.
POROUS RIVER SYSTEM
Rosario noted that while Dagupan is supposedly not in the direct path of the water that flows into the sea from the San Roque Dam, he said it’s hard to imagine that you can confine water where there are lot of breaches along the river banks in Agno.
“Several years passed we have noticed that each time water is released in San Roque Dam, we feel the water that is rushing to Dagupan so by that indication alone, our river system is very porous,” Rosario said.
Rosario’s office is coordinating with DENR, the National Integrated Fisheries Technology and Development Center, together with environmentalist Nick Melecio and the City Agriculture Office on the probe.
The task force is initially collating water quality test results from previous years as basis of comparison.
There are four water sampling stations in Dagupan namely Calmay River, Pantal River, the river in front of Mele’s Restaurant and Dawel.
“With these sampling stations, we’d be able to determine the level of water quality (here),” Rosario said.
Rosario said water quality monitoring in 2009- 2011 indicate it is “within normal limit”.
“But we’re yet to see the ‘after incident’ report when there was an incident of mine tailing from Philex Mines… we are yet to validate that including the current by way of analyzing the chemical content present in the water. August 2012, so you talk about six months period,” he added.
Fernandez, who is also mayor-elect of the city, has ordered an immediate release of the task force findings in order to guide the city’ aquaculture stakeholders.—Eva Visperas
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