Laguna Water Continues to Spread Awareness About the Importance of Proper Sanitation

Laguna Water Management Team dancing to its desludging jingle, “Poo-poo song”.

Bridging the gap between the knowledge and practice of proper sanitation with focus on used water treatment, Laguna Water invited residents of the cities of Binan, Santa Rosa, and Cabuyao to its information, education, and communication program titled Tamang Sanitasyon Equals Kalusugan, Kalinisan, at Kaunlaran ng Bayan (TSEK ng Bayan): Ugnayan at Talastasan held in Binan, Laguna.

Launched in 2017, the TSEK ng Bayan campaign aims to transform the mindset and reform the behavior of people about sanitation. It informs the public that sanitation is not just about having toilet facilities, rather, it is the hygienic practices of human waste disposal in ways that will not be harmful to the environment and to human health. Thus, TSEK ng Bayan highlights the concept of used water treatment as a vital element in achieving adequate sanitation.

Discussed during the TSEK ng Bayan in Binan are the detrimental impacts of untreated used water to human health, natural resources, water quality, and economic productivity.

“For years, we have neglected the need to treat the water we have used. Many are not aware that used water should not be discharged directly to water bodies because this would pose various concerns in health and environment,” said Laguna Water Regulatory and External Affairs Head, Sol N. Dimayuga.

Aside from sharing the impacts of improper sanitation, Laguna Water also introduced its initiatives to make sanitation accessible and available to all. These include sewer management for gated communities and industrial parks and desludging services for open communities.

Desludging services include the collection of used water in the septic tanks, which should be done at least every five years. The collected waste should then be transported to and treated in a used water treatment plant prior discharge to a body of water.

“We did an informal survey with regard to the practice of desludging in Laguna and we found out that at least 8 out of 10 people have not desludged their septic tanks. Very alarming indeed, hence, we plan to intensify our TSEK ng Bayan campaign to reach more people and make them informed why each household should practice regular desludging,” said Sol.

Having toilet facilities remains to be a challenge to millions of Filipinos, hence, they resort to defecate in the open. To address this sanitation concern, Laguna Water is exploring the possibility of offering a new portable toilet technology and of constructing communal toilet facilities in toilet-less communities.

Laguna Water is set to offer its desludging services to the cities of Binan, Santa Rosa, and Cabuyao this year. With this, the largest water and sanitation services provider in Laguna will bring its TSEK ng Bayan program to the different barangays in the said cities to educate people about the importance of desludging their septic tanks and the treatment of used water. 

TSEK ng Bayan campaign encourages people to do their share in ensuring sustainability of the environment. The campaign received a Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of the Philippines for successfully raising awareness of the public about proper sanitation with focus on used water management.

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