WATCH: Algae turn Boracay waters green

MANILA, Philippines —Days ahead of the temporary closure of Boracay island, algae were seen turning the clear waters of Boracay green.

In March 2017, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said that untreated wastewater from informal settlers triggered the massive growth of algae on the world-renowned island.

In a report by BusinessWorld, DENR Western Visayas Regional Director Jim Sampulna cited that this finding was based on research conducted in 2015. He also cited the detergents used by the residents of Boracay who do not have waste treatment facilities as a factor in the algal bloom.

“We conducted a research late last year and the result showed that untreated water triggers the growth of algae. These are chemicals, soap and shampoo that the informal settlers use,” Sampulna was quoted in the BusinessWorld report.

Phosphates in soap

Another DENR official, Maria Paz Luna, OIC undersecretary for Manila Bay concerns and related water concerns, said that detergents with high phosphate content cause algae to grow. 

“We have to have phosphate limits. Boracay has phosphate problems. The weeds are caused [by] that—  the moss,” Luna said at the Trashing Paradise “Trashing Paradise: Philippine Coastal Tourism, Marine Pollution, and the Law” symposium held at the University of the Philippines held last April 11.

“Maybe it’s good if we ban the phosphate in detergents. There is a high usage of detergent in Boracay because of the regular cleaning of sheets in hotels,” she added, in Filipino.

According to international water treatment and purification firm Lenntech, phosphates in detergents lead to freshwater algal blooms. It said that algae releases toxins and, when they decompose, they use up the oxygen available for aquatic life.

The non-profit group Boracay Foundation, Inc., however, claimed in a BusinessWorld report that the algal bloom is “simply a natural phenomenon that occurs yearly during the dry season or summer period."

The group, composed of representatives of Boracay’s tourism establishments, organizations, residents and expatriates, said the local residents observed the growth of algae even before it became a top tourist destination.

Green algae can be seen on the bay of Boracay on April 24, 2018, ahead of its closure. President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the once-idyllic white-sand resort closed to tourists for up to six months from April 26, after describing the country's top tourist attraction as a

Aerial view of Boracay waters. The STAR/Walter Bollozos

Tourists relax as algae turns the water green at Boracay beach, Malay town, in central Philippines on April 17, 2018, ahead of its closure. The Philippines is set to deploy hundreds of riot police to top holiday island Boracay to keep travelers out and head off potential protests ahead of its six-month closure to tourists, the government said April 17. STR/AFP

Green algae at the shoreline of Boracay beach. The STAR/Walter Bollozos

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The report also said that even the Department of Tourism has observed that algae forms during the dry season.

The BFPI said that algal bloom is nothing to be worried about.

The island is scheduled to be closed on April 26 to pave way for its rehabilitation.

President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to shut down the island in February, saying it has become a “cesspool.” —With reports from BusinessWorld/Louine Hope Conserva