Quezon City to require building owners to install sewage treatment facilities

MANILA, Philippines – The Quezon City government will soon be requiring all new building owners in the city to install sewage treatment facilities to help mitigate hazardous emission from buildings and other structures.

Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. instructed city building official Isagani Verzosa to oversee the implementation of the policy, which is provided for under the city’s green building ordinance.

The mayor underscored the importance of installing eco-friendly systems and technologies on QC buildings and other structures when he was invited as guest of honor during the inauguration of the newly-rehabilitated sewage treatment plant of the Philippine Heart Center along East Avenue.

Belmonte cited as imperative the need for land users, developers and planners to maintain building standards that promote use of renewable building materials, energy reduction and efficiency mechanisms, solid waste and waste water treatment facilities and other environment-friendly technologies.

As provided under the city’s green building ordinance, the city government shall provide tax incentives for applicants who install and use environment-friendly technologies in their design, construction or retrofitting procedures.

Among those required to maintain and operate sewage treatment plants are malls and hospitals.

According to Verzosa, violators shall be dealt with accordingly pending approval of the implementing rules and regulations of the city’s green building ordinance.

Section 3 of the ordinance requires privately-owned structures as well as subdivision and government-owned buildings to incorporate in their building plans the need to maintain and operate sewage treatment plants, which is the process of removing contaminants from waste water generated by said establishment.

Its objective is to produce a water stream and a solid waste or sludge suitable for discharge or reuse back into the environment.

An effluent discharge of more than 30 cubic meters serves as basis for the need to maintain and operate sewage treatment plants.

However, all markets, shall be required to install said facility regardless of effluent discharge.