The ongoing restoration of Manila Bay by the national government has substantially reduced the amount of coliform bacteria in the natural harbor’s water abutting the Baywalk region.
Elenida Basug, the officer-in-charge of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Climate Change Service, said on Friday that the rehabilitation’s solid waste management (SWM) strategies, geoengineering interventions, and monitoring of establishments’ regulatory compliance helped lower the coliform level and improve water quality.
“That (coliform bacteria) level decreased to an average (of) 21,100 most probable number (mpn) per 100 milliliters (ml) in the third quarter of 2021 from 5.75 million mpn per 100 ml in 2019,” she said, citing Manila Bay Coordinating Office date during the weekly Ang Tinig Klima program.
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During an inspection in June, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu stated the normal fecal coliform level in Manila Bay should drop to 100 mpn/100ml for its waters to be safe to swim in.
Between January and September 2021, almost 19,000 clean-up actions related to Manila Bay’s restoration and declogging were carried out, with 50,618 cubic meters of debris retrieved from the water body’s shoreline and tributaries, according to Basug.
She said that such initiatives engaged an estimated 82,000 volunteers and “estero” rangers.
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Basug said the DENR’s National Capital Region office delivered pushcarts to selected barangays in the bay region to assist promote a clean environment.
Those pushcarts will help improve and facilitate the collection and transport of waste there, she noted.
