thesis report - wamafst - 0799866 - s. ligtvoet - 2014-2015 - v.2 (1)

S. Ligtvoet – 0799866 – June 16, 2015

ROTTERDAM UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCE

Possibilities for improved wastewater management in the lower income areas of Cebu City GRADUATION THESIS RESEARCH REPORT

GRADUATION THESIS REPORT DOST VII

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Possibilities for improved wastewater management in the lower income areas of Cebu City

GRADUATION THESIS RESEARCH REPORT

Organization Organization: Department of Science & Technology VII www.dost.gov.ph Supervisor: Dr. Edilberto L. Paradela Business address: S&T Complex, Sudlon, Lahug, Cebu City, 6000 Philippines Phone : (+63) 254 8269 Fax: (+63) 414 7477 Email: [email protected] Student Information Name: Sean Ligtvoet Student No. : 0799866 Email: [email protected] Phone : +31652986097 Skype: Seanligtvoet Address: Paradijslaan 42C, Crooswijk, 3034 SN, Rotterdam Study: Water Management, Bachelor of Applied Sciences Educational Institution: The Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool

Rotterdam) Educational unit: Institute for the Built Environment Address: G. J. de Jonghweg 4 – 6, 3015 GG Rotterdam Supervisors: Marjolijn van Eijsden

Rick Heikoop June 2015


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Preface After travelling to the Philippines multiple times in the last few years I’m convinced that there are

possibilities with regards to an improved sewage system nationwide. In my 3rd years internship I

managed to initiate, design and construct the first vertical helophyte filter system for domestic

wastewater within Davao City. During the Minor International Aid & Development I travelled to

Davao again to obtain knowledge about the possibilities of wastewater treatment in coastal areas

and managed to build two toilets for a day care centre in the coastal squatter area of Davao City.

This bachelor thesis is the final phase of the study Water management at the Rotterdam University of

Applied Sciences. The research is conducted in cooperation with S. Ligtvoet, student of the University

of Applied Science Rotterdam and the Department of Science & Technology Region VII (DOST VII).

During this cooperation I was guided and provided with working space by the DOST VII but will be

independent on how interpret results are interpreted. Prior to this research a plan of action was

conducted in which the main goal was the insurance that both the Rotterdam University and the

DOST VII have accordance over the context in which the research is conducted.

I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Edilberto L. Paradela for his hospitality and guidance during

my stay in Cebu City. I would also like to thank Rick Heikoop for his endorsement to the DOST VII and

his guidance throughout the whole process of this research.

Rotterdam, June 2015

Sean Ligtvoet


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Summary Within the Republic of the Philippines, the rapid urban population growth that started in the early

70s had a huge impact on the spatial planning within the larger delta cities. With an average PGR of

2.5% in the last 50 years, the population within Cebu City has tripled since that time. During this

event there was a significant amount of stress on finding the right balance between housing and

infrastructural projects in which proper wastewater management is often neglected.

Although the city is economically developing by exploring the new markets on IT and Telemarketing,

the poverty is seen in every barangay of the city in which a significant amount of public spaces are

occupied with informal settlements. These informal settlements are scattered around the city and

are seen as the main polluter of the surface- and groundwater bodies due to the fact that these

settlements mostly discharge their wastewater directly on the surface waters. However, this fact has

never been proven and there is little known about the actual state of wastewater management

within these ‘’lower income’’ areas. Therefore, the main goal of this research is obtaining knowledge

on these lower income areas and finding feasible approaches for the improvement of their

wastewater management. Based on this research goal, the main research question of this research is:

What are the possibilities for improved wastewater management in the lower income areas

of Cebu City?

Prior to this research, a literature study was conducted to create knowledge on different aspects

which determine the feasibility of wastewater related projects in the context of developing

countries. The main concepts were: Current state of sanitation, Decentralized wastewater treatment,

private participation and the ability to pay. To obtain knowledge on the current state of wastewater

management, field researches were conducted along the Lahug River, Mahinga Creek and the

Sewage Treatment Plant in Tinago (STP). Within these field researches multiple deficiencies were

observed in which multiple were situated in such a way that proper wastewater treatment (septic

tank) was impossible. Furthermore, the field research that was conducted at the local STP made clear

that the installation that is meant for the secondary treatment of the collected septic tank sludge of

the city is defective.

After discussing these results with the local water utilizer MCWD, multiple decentralized wastewater

treatment facilities (DWATS) were reviewed on their cost and applicability with regard to the

availability of space, budget, materials and technical knowledge. The main output of this aspect is

that the communal septic tank in combination with a simplified sewerage and a secondary helophyte

filters system is the most optional system in the context of Cebu City. Although these systems would

be an asset in the restoration of the environment and the preservation of public health, the budget

and technological knowledge on wastewater filtering is limited within the MCWD, who carries the

responsibility of wastewater management in the city. By endorsing the private sector within the

process of improving the current wastewater management in lower income areas, the collaboration

can be beneficial of both sided when roles and agreements are clear and well executed. Within this

collaboration the MCWD will benefit on the direct investment of private investors and technical

knowledge that is obtained whenever the construction is outsourced to a private construction

company. Within this aspect the rate of return of investment is an important factor in which the

private sector will feel endorsed to collaborate and therefore a clear interest of the investment has

to be established before the concession is handed over. The return of investment is estimated by


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quoting the implementation and maintenance phase in a time period of 20 years in which the annual

connection fee will determine the time period in which the investment becomes profitable.

Therefore the ability and willingness to pay is an important aspect in the feasibility within this

context. To create knowledge on this aspect, interviews have been conducted with inhabitants of the

lower income areas in barangay Lahug. The questions are aimed on getting a clear view of their

willingness and ability to pay by questioning on their current expenses with regard to wastewater

treatment (septic tank desluging), their income and the amount of budget they are willing to pay for

an improved sewerage system. The results showed that the actual ability to pay is around 10,000

peso, based on their current wastewater management costs. The willingness to pay lays far lower in

which they are only fond of improved wastewater management whenever it reduces their current

expenses.

To bring all these concepts in practice, a feasibility study is conducted in Barangay Lorega in which

the practical implementation of a DWATS was analyzed on its applicability. The location of this

research is initiated by Sir Lasaro P. Salvacion, representative of the MCWD, due to the alarming

state of wastewater management in the barangay. Within this barangay the level environmental

pollution, caused by direct wastewater disposal, is high due to the fact that these household have an

insufficient amount of space to construct their septic tanks. Within the recommendation of this

research, the design of this DWATS is set up for a target are of approximately 590 household which is

equivalent to 1538 persons within the context of this area. The system is set up with simplified

sewerage system (1.1M peso), a primary wastewater treatment basin (2.8M peso) and a vertical

helophyte filter system (1.9M Peso). The total cost of 5.8M peso and an estimated maintenance cost

of 50,000 peso per year are set up in a time period of 20 years (expected sustainability of the project)

in which the annual connection fee is set on 1,000 peso per household. With an estimated average

inflation of 3,6% the interest of the investment is 1,17% in a time period of 20 years. The DWATS will

also decrease the expenses of the inhabitants with 50% over a time period of 20 years.

Although these results are promising for the improvement of the current state of wastewater

management in Lorega, there are always uncertainties in a way that it’s unclear how these systems

will be adopted and managed properly within the context of lower income areas. However, the

research is specifically aimed to describe the necessity of gaining knowledge on the earlier described

concepts which are essential for the feasibility of a wastewater related project in the context of Cebu

City.


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Contents Preface

Summary .............................................................................................................................................................................. 3

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 6

1.1. Research background .............................................................................................................................................. 6

1.2. Problem Definition .................................................................................................................................................. 7

1.3. Literature study ....................................................................................................................................................... 7

1.4. Knowledge gap ........................................................................................................................................................ 8

1.5. Main goals ............................................................................................................................................................... 9

1.6. Research questions ................................................................................................................................................. 9

1.7. Conceptual Model ................................................................................................................................................. 10

2. Methodology............................................................................................................................................................... 11

2.1. General description ............................................................................................................................................... 11

2.2. Research method .................................................................................................................................................. 11

2.3. Boundary conditions ............................................................................................................................................. 13

3. Wastewater system analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 14

3.1. Context analysis .................................................................................................................................................... 14

3.2. Wastewater system analysis ................................................................................................................................. 15

3.3. Wastewater management .................................................................................................................................... 17

4. Making improved wastewater management feasible ................................................................................................................ 19

4.1. DWATS .................................................................................................................................................................. 19

4.1.1. Sewerage distribution system ..................................................................................................................... 20

4.1.2. Wastewater Filter System ........................................................................................................................... 21

4.1.3. Effluent ........................................................................................................................................................ 23

4.1.4. Most applicable system ............................................................................................................................... 24

4.2. Private participation ............................................................................................................................................. 24

4.3. Ability & Willingness to pay .................................................................................................................................. 28

5. Feasibility study: Lorega .................................................................................................................................................. 30

6. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................. 34

7. Recommendation ......................................................................................................................................................... 37

Discussion ........................................................................................................................................................................... 42

Appendix Lorega ........................................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Surface area of household in Barangay Lorega ................................................................................................................... 57

Target Area in Lorega ......................................................................................................................................................... 58


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1. Introduction Within the Philippines more and more delta cities are trying to cope with the population growth of

the last decennia. Within these highly urbanized delta cities the stress on housing and preserving

proper infrastructural mobility is high. Therefore, proper wastewater management is often neglected

in which rules and regulations on wastewater treatment are no longer enforced within the lower

income areas of these cities. In this chapter the context of this problem and this research is further

explained.

1.1. Research background

This paragraph gives a short description on the background in which the research took place.

Population growth in the Philippines Within the Philippines the rapid population growth that started in the early 70s has almost tripled

the amount of Filipino citizens since that time. Until the 90s the average annual population growth

rate (PGR) was always above 2.5% and since that time decreased to an amount of 1.73%. With this

annual PGR, the Philippines is still ranking as 12th fastest growing country in the world according to

recent data from the United Nations Department of Economics & Social Affairs (National Statistics

Office, 2013). Since the early 70s more and more people from rural areas went to the cities to seek

prosperity and this pattern resulted in the fact that 50% of the total population lives within highly

urbanized areas as in today.

Sanitation Within the larger delta cities of the Philippines (Manila, Cebu City, Davao City) this rapid population

growth in combination with the rapid urbanization had a severe impact on the spatial planning of

these cities in which they weren’t able to grow along with the growth of the population. The direct

results of this rapid urban population growth can be found in every big delta city in the Philippines in

which there is little space for housing or infrastructural project within the downtown and water

frontal areas. Within the process of finding a suitable balance between making space for housing

projects or for improved infrastructure there is little room left for the current national problems with

regard to sanitation. Although most of these cities are capable of connceting all citizens to a

(drinking) water connection, there is little development within the wastewater management within

the lower income areas of these cities.

Multiple national initiated researches on the actual pollution of the river systems within these highly

urbanized delta cities of the Philippines, showed that a severe amount of cases in which the river

systems were declared as biologically dead (DENR , 2012). The main pollution of these river systems

is mostly coming from informal settlements that are settled in water frontal locations in which

wastewater is directly discharged on surface waters. According to the Water and Sanitation Program

(WSP) the Philippines still invested little in proper sewage collection and treatment in which 25% of

the population doesn’t have access to proper sanitation and around seven million people are

practicing open defecation. The national government obliges the citizens to construct a primary

wastewater filter in the form of a septic tank but these rules are more seen as guidelines within the

lower income areas due to lack of enforcement.


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1.2. Problem Definition

Within the Philippines the rapid urban population growth resulted in a situation in which proper

wastewater management is often neglected due to the lack of available space and budget. However,

this situation has resulted in a huge impact on the natural environment and public health. According

to a recent research on economic impacts of sanitation in the Philippines, conducted by the World

Bank under the Water & Sanitation Program, the Philippines are experiencing an average annual

death rate of 20,000 persons caused by the direct effect of open sewage (WSP, 2008). Within Cebu

City this national issue is visible in which the wastewater management in lower income areas is

mostly neglected due to the limited capacity to allocate public space for improved wastewater

collection & treatment. By national law, the MCWD carries the responsibility to preserve the

groundwater from wastewater pollution due to the fact that they are supplying the city of drinking

water and therefore have to obtain the wellbeing of the groundwater within the their service area

(DPWH, 2013). Therefore the MCWD is trying to find ways on how to make domestic wastewater

treatment feasible for the lower income areas of Cebu City but due to lack of budget and

technological knowledge on low cost wastewater treatment these initiatives were mostly hampered

on their feasibility (Salvacion, 2014).

1.3. Literature study

Prior to this research a literature study is conducted to obtain knowledge about what scientific

literature says about wastewater treatment in developing countries with a similar context as Cebu

City. This literature study was set up after accordance was made with the Department of Science &

Technology Region VII and the MCWD to focus on the feasibility of decentralized wastewater

treatment and private participation within this research. To create knowledge about the feasibility of

decentralized wastewater treatment was analysed by obtaining knowledge from the following

researches:

- DWATS & Sanitation in Developing Countries, 2009

Bernd Gutterer, BORDA.

- Economic and Feasibility Analysis of Process Selection & Resource Allocation in Decentralized

Wastewater Treatment in Developing Countries, 2011

Kartiki Naik, Water Environment Federation

- Simplified Sewerage Design Guidelines, 2001

Alexander Bakalian, Albert Wright, Richard Otis, Jose de Azevedo Netto, UNDP

Within in the first listed research different forms of decentralized wastewater filter systems (DWATS)

are described in which their feasibility is assessed with regard to costs and complexity of the systems.

The second listed research is focused on the external effects that make a DWATS feasible in which

the availability of the needed technology & materials are an important aspect in the feasibility of

DWATSs. Furthermore, the research shows that the willingness & ability to pay is an important

aspect within the dimensioning of a DWATS. The last listed research was conducted in Nepal by the

United Nations Developing Program 2001. Within this research the technical and financial aspects of

an already implemented sewerage system are described with regards to their sustainability and cost

saving aspects. Furthermore, science based literature with regard to private participation in the


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wastewater sector in developing countries was analysed to obtain knowledge on how private can be

used as a tool to make wastewater treatment feasible in developing countries. The analysed

literature is listed below:

- Public private not-for-profit partnerships: delivering public services to developing countries

Erick F. Oechler Salana, University of Colorado, 2014

- Strategies for building resilience to hazards in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems:

The role of public private partnerships, 2014

Åse Johannessen, ArnoRosemarin, FrankThomalla, Åsa GergerSwartling, ThorAxelStenström,

GregorVulturius Durban, University of Technology, Institute for Water and Wastewater

Technology, South Africa

- Can developing countries both decentralize and depoliticize urban water services? Evaluating

the legacy of the 1990s reform wave, 2014

Veronica Herrera, Alison E. Post, University of Connecticut

The first listed research was conducted to create of a clear view on how private capital and

technology investment can increase the level of feasibility of projects in developing countries. The

main outcome of this research is a tool which makes private participation more applicable and

interesting for both government and private perspective. The second listed research was conducted

to review the effectiveness of private participation within the water sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

program that is initiated by UNICEF. The research gives advisable strategies and potential risks by

using public private partnerships in the wastewater sector in developing countries. The third listed

research was conducted to create a clear view if the privatization within developing countries was

the best solution in the early 90s. The conclusion of this research is that the benefits of private

participation lay mostly in the political stability of the country. Whenever laws and regulations are

frequently changing due to the instability of the government, concessions are less interesting for the

private sector as their contracts can be terminated during huge political reforms.

1.4. Knowledge gap

Based on the literature study that was conducted to create understanding about decentralized

wastewater filtering and using private participation within this concept, the following aspects were

found to be most relevant for making wastewater treatment feasible in the lower income areas of

Cebu City; Applicability, Decentralized wastewater treatment, Public- private- partnership and ability

to pay. If these concepts are taken into account within the concepts of Cebu City, the knowledge gap

for making wastewater treatment feasible in low income areas becomes visible. The required

knowledge to find an integrated solution on improving the current wastewater of wastewater

management is listed below:

Sanitation The current state of sanitation which a DWATS has to improve is an important aspect in which it

influences the design, dimensioning and its expected sustainability. Within this aspect the location

and urgency of the intervention is the central foundation on which an improved sanitation is feasible.

Within Cebu City there is little knowledge about the deficiencies in the current wastewater

management and therefore a basic inventory of deficiencies in the current wastewater management

is needed.


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DWATS After discussing the Plan of Action of this research with Ed. Paradela, regional director of the DOST

Region VII and Lasaro P. Salvacion, Dep. Manager of Water resources Knowledge Centre of the

MCWD, they were most interested in gaining more knowledge about decentralized wastewater

treatment. Within the studied literature on DWATS multiple suitable filter systems were described

but haven’t been designed in the context of the main research problem. Therefore an inventory of

applicable wastewater filtering is missing in this concept of making wastewater treatment feasible.

Private participation Within the context of the research the local government is mainly responsible for the wellbeing of

the environment and public health but the citizens are responsible for the treatment of their

wastewater. In the studied literature on public- private- partnership multiple strategies are described

in which a new organizational structure in which the private sector can be held responsible for the

collection and treatment of wastewater were found to be successful tools to obtain the proper

wastewater treatment. Within the context of Cebu City there is little knowledge of introducing the

private sector in the wastewater management of the city.

Ability to pay According to the studied literature, one of the most important design aspects of a wastewater filter

is the actual ability and willingness to pay for an improved wastewater treatment which is a

completely unknown aspect in the context of Cebu City and therefore knowledge on aspect has to be

obtained.

1.5. Main goals

The main goal of this research is to bridge the knowledge gap that is described in paragraph 1.4. The knowledge gap on how the current state of wastewater management can be improved within the lower income areas of Cebu City can be divided in sub goals. These goals are:

Creating a clear view on the current state of wastewater management in Cebu City

Finding best practices with regard to decentralized wastewater treatment systems which are applicable in the context of Cebu City

Creating a clear view on public- private- partnerships with regard to wastewater management and how the studied literature can be translated into the context of Cebu City

Creating a clear view on the willingness and ability to pay for an improved sewage system Main goal: Recommending an integrated solution on improving the current state of wastewater management in the lower income areas of Cebu City.

1.6. Research questions

The research consists of multiple objectives that aim on how the current state of wastewater

management within Cebu City can be improved by privatization. To obtain these objectives they first

have to be translated into research questions.


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Based on the research objectives the main research question is:

What are the possibilities for improved wastewater management in the lower income

areas of Cebu City?

The sub-questions within this research are based on the in paragraph 1.4 explained knowledge gap

and are aimed to obtain the knowledge on making improved wastewater management feasible in

lower income areas of Cebu city.

The sub questions within this research are:

1 What is the current state of sanitation & wastewater management in Cebu City? 2 What are the possibilities for decentralized wastewater treatment in the lower income areas

of Cebu City? 3 How can private participation be used as a tool to make improved wastewater management

feasible in Cebu City? 4 What is the ability and willingness to pay for an improved wastewater management?

1.7. Conceptual Model

The conceptual model of this research is based on the derived concepts from the literature study

that need to be obtained to make improved wastewater management feasible in the lower income

areas of Cebu City. The different concepts are illustrated in the conceptual model that aims on the

main goal of the research. The conceptual model is the guideline within this research and therefore

multiple aspects are attached to the different concepts which represent the knowledge gaps that

need to be bridged.

Figure 1: Conceptual model


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2. Methodology This chapter is dedicated to give an overview of the methods that are used to get answers on the

research questions. The methods are further discussed and boundary conditions are given to this

research.

2.1. General description The methodology of this research is visualized in the table below. The table shows how the main

concepts within this research result into questions that are aimed to obtain an expected output by

using different methods like: literature study, surveys, focus groups and interviews. The different

methods that are used to obtain the expected output are further described in the next paragraph.

The expected output of the research questions are used as guidelines for designing a DWATS for

barangay Lorega in which the practical applicability of the implementation is analysed in a feasibility

study.

Table1: Methodology

Ch. Concept Research question Method Output

3 Sanitation 1) What is the current state of wastewater management in Cebu City

Literature study Interviews with government officials Survey (field research) on the current state of wastewater management

- General description of the wastewater management in Cebu City

- A clear view on the deficiencies within the current state of wastewater management

4.1 DWATS 2) What are the possibilities for decentralized wastewater treatment in the lower income areas of Cebu City?

Literature study & focus groups on low cost wastewater treatment facilities

- Best practices in wastewater management applicable in the context of Cebu City

4.2 Public- Private- Partnership

3) How can private participation be used as a tool to make improved wastewater management feasible in Cebu City?

Literature study & Focus groups on public private partnership

- Knowledge on the feasibility of privatizing the wastewater sector

4.3 Willingness & ability to pay

4) What is the willingness and ability to pay for an improved sewage system?

Survey & Interviews in/along the Lahug River and Kamagong area

- Knowledge about the willingness and ability to pay by the locals

5 Applicability What are the possibilities for improved wastewater management in Cebu City?

Feasibility study: Lorega

- Knowledge about how improved wastewater management can be feasible

2.2. Research method

To obtain the expected output on the research question different methods have been used on to

obtain the specific information that is needed within the context of the question. The different

methods that are used within obtaining information about the different concepts are described on

the next page.


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Sanitation Prior to all other measurements field research was done to create a clear view on the actual state of

the wastewater management and deficiencies within its functioning. Based on the context of this

research the field researches were conducted within the lower income areas of Cebu City under

guidance of the DOST VII and MCWD officials. Within this research the state of the Mahinga Creek

and Lahug River were observed as well as the settlements along the waterways. Furthermore, the

local Sewage Treatment Plant in Tinago was observed in its functioning. Besides the conducted field

research multiple interviews were held with local stakeholders to create understanding about the

current state of wastewater management and its deficiencies. These interviews were mostly done

with representatives of the MCWD as they are the local water supplier responsible for the

environmental pollution caused by improper wastewater treatment. The main representatives of the

MCWD were Lasaro P. Salvacion department manager of Water Resources Knowledge Center and

Jefferson Y. Benedicto, Senior community Relations Officer of the Watershed & Environmental

Management Division. These representatives are specialized in observing groundwater pollution

caused by small lower income establishments and therefore have the knowledge on practical

deficiencies within the wastewater management of Cebu City. To create a clear view on the

organizational structure of the wastewater management In Cebu City, governmental documents and

proceedings were used as main information source.

DWATS To create a sufficient amount of knowledge on what decentralized wastewater filter systems are

applicable within the context of this research multiple best practices were reviewed on their

efficiency, applicability and costs by conducting literature study on DWATS. The main sources for

best practices are project analysis conducted by United Nations development programs which are

focused on the wastewater treatment in developing countries as is listed in paragraph 1.3.

Furthermore, assumptions are made from recently conducted reports with regard to wastewater

treatment in Davao City. The cities show a significant amount of similarities within the availability of

materials and technologies with regard to technical aspects of wastewater filtering. Therefore the

following researches are used for the quotation of building materials and equipment: Vertical

Helophyte Filter Manual, HELP Davao Network, S. Ligtvoet, 2012; Profitable Sanitation Facilities in

Informal Settlements, Department of Science & Technology XI, S. Ligtvoet, 2013.

To create accordance with the local stakeholders on the suggested DWATS focus groups were set up

in which these possibilities were discussed with the representatives of the MCWD, Jose Daluz III

chairman of Cebu City River Management Council (CCRMC), and the suggested DWATS were

presented to Mayor Michael L. Rama, Mayor of Cebu City.

Private participation To obtain the expected output with regards to private participation literature study was conducted

which was aimed on strategies to seduce both private & public sector in a feasible collaboration. The

main sources of this literature study are listed in paragraph 1.3. The main goal within this aspect is

translating this science based literature in the context of Cebu City which was obtained by discussing

the different strategies with local governmental agencies in which CCRMC chairman Jose Daluz III

was and the representatives of the MCWD were interviewed. The MCWD the main local authority to

who tender may be requested with regard to wastewater related concessions. Therefore accordance

with the MCWD had to be established during this process.


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Ability to pay To create a clear view on the ability and willingness to pay, interviews were conducted in which the

wastewater treatment, average income and willingness to pay per household was analyzed. These

interviews were conducted in lower income areas along the Lahug River and in the middle/ lower

income area in Kamagong in December 2014. Due to the fact that these interviews had to be

conducted under guidance of local authorities for the preservation of personal safety these

interviews were limited to 30 households. Therefore a qualitative approach was chosen in which the

interviews were mostly conducted within the households of the interviewees in which there was

room for in depth interrogation wherein the interviewees could reflect their situation on other

situations in their neighborhood. These tactics aim to find the actual deficiencies within the

wastewater management and the actual ability to pay besides the willingness to pay for improved

wastewater management. Due to the limited amount of interviewed households, these results are

reflected on economic data which are published by the national government and the World

Development Bank.

Applicability To obtain knowledge on the practical construction of a DWATS in the lower income area a feasibility

study is conducted in which Barangay Lorega is assessed on the knowledge that’s obtained on the

concepts: Sanatitation, DWATS, Willingness to pay and private participation. The location choice is

initiated by the representatives of the MCWD due to the alarming state of wastewater management

and the contextual aspects of Lorega that fit within the context of this research. Prior to any other

method, a field research is conducted to analyze the context in which the DWATS has to function

with regards to spatial aspects and the current state of wastewater management. Furthermore a

focus group was conducted with Fritzgerald D. Herreda, Barangay captain of Lorega, and Lasaro P.

Salvacion, representative of the MCWD to create a clear view on the ability to pay within the

barangay and the possibilities for private participation. Furthermore, the applicability is analyzed by

making a technical design of a DWATS in Lorega in which the different concepts are the foundation of

the calculated measurements. Within this process, the costs and benefits of the implementation and

maintenance phase are estimated in a time period of 20 years.

2.3. Boundary conditions The scope of this research is limited to the possibilities of wastewater treatment in the urban lower

income areas of Cebu City. Therefore, this research will only take place within the city boundaries of

Cebu City in which the focus lays on the deficiencies within the wastewater management in lower

income areas. The science based literature is explicitly chosen on its relevance with regard to the

context of this research and therefore only researches are used that were conducted within other

developing countries within (South)-East Asia. Furthermore, this research is focused on decentralized

wastewater filtering and therefore this research will be explicitly limited to the applicability of

DWATS. The conducted field researches are only performed under guidance of local authorities and

within the context of this research. The conducted interviews and focus groups are explicitly

conducted with direct stakeholders within the wastewater sector of Cebu City. Therefore these

interviews are done with the inhabitants of lower income areas and the local authorities on

wastewater management: Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), Cebu City River Management

Council (CCRMC) and barangay officials. The research will be conducted in a time period of five

months from October 2014 until January 2015 under guidance of the Department of Science &

Technology Region VII and the MCWD.


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3. Wastewater system analysis Within this chapter the context of this research is described and a clear view on the current state of

wastewater management in the lower income areas of Cebu City is described in the wastewater

analysis.

3.1. Context analysis Cebu City is the oldest city of the Philippines as it was the first island that the Spanish colonized in

1521 and is located in the Central Visayas. Since that time the city always had an important role in

harbor activities and grew to a population of approximately 870,000 inhabitants and has a total land

area of 280km2 ( DOST VII, 2000). The city is highly urbanized due to the fact that the city is located

between two other cities and can’t expand while the population growth is enormous. According to

the Philippine Statistics Authority the population has grown from ±350,000 in 1970 to ±870,000 in

2010 in which the annual growth rate was 1.88 percent in the last recorded decade (PSA, 2013).

Although the city has the potential aspects that it can expand uphill (North-West), the recognizable

patterns of a modern delta city are visible in which the spatial development tend be focused on

coastal expansion. To anticipate on these patterns, the Cebu City government started the land

reclamation project ‘’South Road Properties’’ in which 300ha of land was reclaimed. The project is

located on walking distance from the business center of Cebu City and was finished in 2001 but little

development has taken place since that time with regard to housing project for citizens with middle

or lower income (Daluz, 2014). Within the urban environment the difference between rich and poor

are seen in every barangay of the city in which the Cebuano’s explore the new upcoming markets on

IT and telemarketing and live prosperous lifestyles. On the other hand, a significant amount doesn’t

seem to be capable of coping with the fast growing economy.

In practice these aspects result in a spatial

planning in which well-functioning spatial

plans are implemented by local private

investors (Ayala, Robbinsons, Gaisano,

SM, etc.) and decent subdivisions are

implemented by either private or public

investment. For the lower income there

doesn’t seem to be much option to settle

and therefore they are situated in every

possible place imaginable. Figure 2

illustrates this situation that was

observed during a field research along the

Mahinga Creek.

The informal settlement that is shown in the picture is constructed over the Mahinga Creek and

situated between two private properties (private road on the right). The city government restricts

any kind of structures in a range of 3m of the river bed to prevent blockage of the river when heavy

rainfall occurs but due to the fact that the Mahinga Creek is the border between Cebu City and

Mandaue there are uncertainties who has to take action within this situation. This passive approach

is based on the fact the city government is always responsible for the relocation of the citizens

whenever households are demolished. According to city councilor Jose Daluz III, this aspect is a

sensitive subject due to the fact that there are a limited amount of options to relocate these people

Figure 2: Informal Settlement above the Mahiga Creek, 2014 Photo; S. Ligtvoet


15

and during times of demolishing there is always a high level of resistance by the inhabitants which

severely decreases the popularity of the prevailing political party. The direct result of this politically

vulnerable issue can be observed throughout the whole city in which poverty forms as a kind of glue

that occupies every square meter of public space left. The reason why this pattern has evolved so

rapidly throughout the city is due to the fact that by national rights the citizens are allowed to

construct their houses along every public road whenever it’s not occupied by a private owner or local

governmental restrictions are legally made.

The figure below visualizes this situation in a cross section that’s made based on the situation in

Kamagong Street, Barangay Lahug. Furthermore, this occupation of public space results in mobility

issues due to the fact that the roads can’t grow along with the rapid growth of the population. The

limited observed land area that was used for the construction of an informal settlement was within

two meters from the public road to the private property in which the houses were around ten meters

long and two stories high (±40m2/ household).

Figure 3: Cross section Kamagong Street

These informal settlement are scattered over the city but there is little known and reported about

the actual wastewater management within these settlement. Although they are all connected to an

individual water connection point they aren’t further registered in official spatial plans. Within

previous conducted researches in the water frontal squatter areas of Davao City similar aspects

within the spatial development were observed. Within these researches there were an alarming

amount of households that didn’t have a primary wastewater treatment facility and had to discharge

all their wastewater directly on the surface water (HELP Davao Network, 2013). The next paragraph

will give a description on how these aspects reflect on the current state of wastewater management

within the lower income areas of Cebu City.

3.2. Wastewater system analysis

Within this paragraph the wastewater system within the context of lower income areas of Cebu City is

described. The wastewater analysis is divided in: impact on water system, sanitation and wastewater

treatment.

Water system The urban area of Cebu City has five river basins that consists of the Sabang Daku River (Mahinga

Creek), Lahug River, Guadalupe River, Kinalumsan River and Bulacao River ( DOST VII, 2000).

According to researches that are conducted by the Department of Environment & Natural Research


16

VII and the Water Resource Center in Cebu City, all of these rivers are recorded as biologically dead

within the urbanized environment due to the fact that the river systems are used as drainage system

for the distribution of grey- and some cases black wastewater.

The main polluter within this wastewater related issue are, the in paragraph 3.1 described, informal

settlements that aren’t capable of performing proper wastewater treatment due to the low income

and location of their house. Within the field research, which was performed along the Lahug River

and Mahinga creek, multiple cases were observed in which proper wastewater treatment wasn’t

possible due to the location of the and multiple local inhabitants admitted that they discharged their

sewage directly on the river systems.

Sanitation According to the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) the Philippines still invested little in proper

sewage collection and treatment in which 25% of the population doesn’t have access to proper

sanitation and around seven million people are practicing open defecation. The national government

obliges the citizens to construct a primary wastewater filter in the form of a septic tank but these

rules are more seen as guidelines within the lower income areas due to lack of enforcement.

According to Miss Fe B. Walag, director on special projects of the Water Resource Center Foundation,

the implementation of these septic is a costly and barely feasible project for the citizens with lower

income (≥10,000 peso). Whenever septic tanks are constructed within these lower income areas,

they are mostly overused because of the high number of persons per household. Septic tanks are

designed to primary treat sewage treatment by using anaerobic bacteria to decompose most of the

unwanted substances. These systems work specifically under the circumstances that these bacteria

are preserved by not discharging high concentrated detergent discharged onto this system. Due to

this fact, the septic has to be desludged with an average of once every three years with an average

cost of 3,000 peso.

Within the context in which the septic tanks are well dimensioned and maintained other deficiencies

are found in which most of this effluent is still directly discharged on surface water or not treated

sufficient enough before it’s discharged into surface waters (DPWH, 2013). Due to this neglect the

Philippines experiences an average of 55 deaths per day and 78 billion peso per year besides the

severe damage to the ecosystem and its biodiversity. The constraint within the development of a

proper sewage collection consists of un-awareness of the public, a low technical capacity to

implement effective and sustainable interventions and lack of responsibility over this national issue.

Wastewater treatment In Cebu City the current sewage treatment process exist out of septic tanks that get desludged by a

private company that discharges the collected waste at a public Sewage treatment plant (STP) in

Barangay Tinago. This STP exists out of a solid waste filter and a 1,500m2 basin wherein the sewage

water is aerated after being filtered from solid waste. The basin is equipped with 3 installations for

aeration of the sewage water and adding biochemical components to decompose anaerobic bacteria.

Furthermore this system is designed with a discharge capability but do to a clogged valve it currently

relies on ground infiltration.


17

During a fieldtrip in November 2014 to this STP the

system was ineffective because >10m3 of Ketchup

was illegally discharged into the basin making the

bio-chemicals ineffective. Besides this inefficiency 2

of the three installations were defective. Figure 4

shows one of the installations is submerging due to

lack of maintenance. View Appendix I for more

impressions. Furthermore the STP is located along

the Mahinga creek that lays on a lower altitude

than the STP which makes it vulnerable for

pollution from the STP through groundwater.

Besides the inefficiency of this local STP the results

from the interview of paragraph 4.3 show that in

lower income areas >70% of the households aren’t

desludging their septic tanks at all.

3.3. Wastewater management The National Sewerage and Septic Management Program (NSSMP) is part of the National Sustainable

Sanitation Plan (NSSP) and the Philippine Sustainable Sanitation Roadmap (PSSR) which are

institutional frameworks that are established to make interventions to eliminate open defecation

practices and create procedures in which domestic wastewater will be treated sufficiently (WEPA,

2013).

The NSSMP is established under the Philippine Clean Water Act (CWA) of 2004 (Republic Act No.

9275) that mandated the preparation of the NSSMP and requires highly urbanized cities to provide

sewerage and septage services to eliminate the impacts of domestic wastewater pollution in surface

waters. Therefore the NSSMP has the goal to increase the water quality in all urban areas of the

Philippines by the year 2020. The main objectives within their program are to create ways for LGUs

to implement local wastewater treatment facilities and creating and supporting more understanding

and financial support for effective and sustainable interventions to improve the natural environment.

Within the program the main strategy is applying demand driven development projects with a

bottom-up view that are supported by national government provision and incentives. On this way

the NSSMP aims to provoke LGUs to develop integrated measurements on wastewater related issues

on local base. On local level different organisations are active within the wastewater management

sector. These organizations mostly consists of governmental sub departments that are developed to

develop integrated solutions to local issues. Within Cebu City these organizations are:

Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Local Water Utilities Administration The MCWD is responsible for the status of the groundwater and therefore the wastewater

management within Cebu City and therefore one of the most important stakeholders within the

wastewater management sector as private service provider. Recommendations will be outsourced by

their supervision due to their position within the organizational structure of wastewater

Figure 4: Defective installation: Photo; S. Ligtvoet


18

management in Cebu City (Salvacion, 2014).The figure below shows the institutional framework of

the NSSMP in which the function of the MCWD lays within the brown dashed square (NSSMP, 2014).

Department of Environment & Natural Resources Region VII (DENR VII) The DENR VII is by law assigned to monitor the wastewater disposal within their region and therefore

an important stakeholder within the wastewater management sector (DENR, 2014).

Department of Public Works & Highways (DPHW) The DPWH is a stakeholder within the wastewater management within Cebu City they because they

are hosting the NSSMP office and therefore are responsible for any implementations with regard to

wastewater treatment by means of the designs and the execution of a certain project. Furthermore

are they as well responsible for the monitoring of the effects of these implementations (DPWH,

2013).

Department of engineering & Public Works (DEPW) The local governmental engineering department within Cebu City is the DEPW and they are

responsible for the maintenance of the existing drainage channels within Cebu City. Whenever the

function of these drainage channels changes due to the recommendations of this research the DEPW

is an important stakeholder (Cebu City Gov, 2010).

Cebu City River Management Council (CCRMC) The CCRMC is assigned to restore and maintain the river systems within Cebu City and therefore they

established the project ReDZ (Reduce & Eliminate Danger Zone´s). The rivers within Cebu City are

currently functioning as wastewater drainage systems besides their function to discharge the

rainwater and therefore highly silted and polluted. Therefore the CCRMC is an important stakeholder

within the design phase of an improved sewage system (Daluz, 2014).

Furthermore the following organizations are targeted due to their organizational involvement with

implementations with regard to sewage water treatment:

- National Economic & Development Authority (NEDA) - Department of Health (DOH) - Department of Interior & Local Government (DILG)

Figure 5: Institutional framework for implementation of NSSMP


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4. Making improved wastewater management feasible This chapter describes different approached in which aim to increase the level of feasibility of

improved wastewater management in lower income areas of Cebu City. The concept of decentralized

wastewater filter systems (DWATS) is described by giving a general description on its differences

between a conventional sewage system with regard to sewerage, wastewater treatment, effluent

and the most applicable form in the context of Cebu City.

Furthermore a description is given on how private participation can be used as a tool within the

process of improving the current state of wastewater management in paragraph 4.2 and the ability &

willingness to pay is described in paragraph 4.3.

4.1. DWATS

Since the beginning of the 20th century the Netherlands has been developing a conventional sewage

system that is for all urban areas. This development was initiated due the fact that Dutch cities grew

rapidly and the large scale of epidemics broke out due to poor implemented sanitation facilities.

Since that time enormous changes have been made in urban planning in which proper sewage

collection and treatment is seen as the main tool to preserve public health and required in every

spatial plan. Today 99.9% of all Dutch citizens are attached to a conventional sewerage system in

which the remaining 0.1% has to be connected to a DWATS that is capable of both primary treatment

& secondary treatment (RIONED, 2015). The implementation of the sewerage systems are under the

responsibility of the city government in which the citizens of the municipality pay a certain yearly fee

depending on the location and technical aspects of the sewage system within the municipality.

Within this concept the whole municipality pays for one conventional sewage system.

Within a conventional sewage system we can define two different types of sewage systems. Within

the combined sewage system both the grey- black and rain water is collected in one pipe system that

is discharged on a centralized wastewater filter system. Within a separated sewer system the

rainwater is discharge in a different pipe that goes directly to the surface water. Due to the large

amount of connected individuals these systems have to be robust and due to the combination of

grey-, black- and rainwater it’s harder to filter the water so larger and more advanced equipment is

needed to clean the water.

Due to the Economic crisis some Dutch Civil engineers disagree on the effectiveness of implementing

conventional sewage systems within newly build communities. The main reason for their sceptic

opinions about implementing conventional sewage system can be found in the cost & benefits of a

conventional sewage system compared with the possibilities of DWATS. Per capita a conventional

sewage system is relatively more expensive and less effective than a DWATS because the different

waste loads (black wastewater, grey wastewater and rainwater) can be treated more effective and

for a lower price whenever they are collected separately. According to the simplified sewerage

design guidelines manual of the World Bank, the capital costs of a sewage system per capita can be

reduced to 30% when DWATS or used in combination with a simplified sewage system (Bakalian,

2000).

DWATS means Decentralized Wastewater treatment Systems that can be used for either individual

households or on communal base. The systems are designed for a specific waste load and are mostly


20

detached from the rainwater distribution network. Their main function is collection and purification

of black and grey wastewater coming from households. The differences between a DWATS and

conventional sewerage system can be divided into three main differences:

- Sewerage distribution system

- Wastewater Filter system

- Effluent

4.1.1. Sewerage distribution system

The sewerage system within a DWATS is different compared with a conventional sewerage because

it’s decentralized and therefore the pipelines within this system are relatively smaller (110-200mm).

A DWATS mostly uses a simplified sewerage system that is designed specifically on the expected

waste load (Q=m3water/h) and should obtain a minimum velocity of 0.07m/s (v= Q / Apipe) instead of

0.05m/s within a conventional sewerage system. The material that is used is mostly PE, PVC or HDEP

pipes and therefore light weighted and smaller in diameter compared with the conventional

sewerage system and therefore simplified sewerage system can be constructed underneath

sidewalks instead of roads (no loss of infrastructural mobility) and on higher elevation (accessible for

small maintenance). Although these aspects make this system less robust they also result in

(Bakalian, 2000):

- Lower costs

- Higher maintenance accessibility

- Less obstruction of public roads during

Maintenance or construction

- No large (pressure) pipes

Furthermore the intensity of the rainfall is far out of the context compared with the annual rainfall in

the Netherland (Ch. 3). Therefore mixing wastewater with rainwater isn’t a sufficient solution on the

current situation in which the rainwater will overwhelm the amount of wastewater making it harder

and harder to remove out of the large volume of water (Bakalian, 2000). This will only increase the

dimensions and therefore expenses of implanting a sewerage system in Cebu City while there are

already drainage channels constructed to drain rainwater mixed with grey wastewater.

The opportunity within this current situation lies more in the removal of all wastewaters coming

from households from the drainage channels. The reason of this statement lies in the (partly) open

construction and maintenance of these drainage channels which. Within an earlier study on the

feasibility of wastewater treatment in the squatter areas in Davao City, similar channels were

observed ,as they are a national implementation constructed by the Department of Public Works &

Highways (chapter 3.4), and the source of their pollution was described. Within Cebu City the same

general pollution of these drainage channels comes from grey water distribution and solid waste

(plastic, iron materials, dead animals, etc.). Besides these two polluters the direct disposal of black

wastewater on open drainage channels was also detected. Chapter 4.5 gives an overview of

interviewed persons in Cebu City in which this fact has been detected as 2 of the 30 interviewed

Cebuanos that live amongst the Lahug river confirmed that they discharged their wastewater directly

on the rivers. This fact gives a base for the assumption that similar activities take place further away

from the river. Therefore the existing drainage should be limited to the discharge of rainwater.


21

4.1.2. Wastewater Filter System

A DWATS can make use of more simplified technologies to filter the wastewater due to the origin of

the waste load because the different sources of the water are/ can be separated before entering the

filter system. Therefore large robust systems to treat all wastewater isn’t needed while most of the

costs of a wastewater filter system goes to the actual filtration of the wastewater. That makes

DWATS more effective on smaller scale than conventional wastewater treatment plants (Ulrich,

2009). The most applicable DWATS, based on the availability of materials and technological

knowledge, are:

Community Septic tank & Anaerobic baffled reactors (ABR) Within a septic tank black and grey wastewater flows for primary treatment in a watertight chamber

made of concrete, fiberglass, PVC or plastic. During the settling anaerobic processes reduce solids

and organics, but the treatment is only moderate because, the solids that settle to the bottom are

degraded anaerobically. For proper treatment the effluent of a septic tank must go to a secondary

filtering approach and has to be desludged frequently. An anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) is basically

an improved septic tank with additional baffles where wastewater is forced to flow over. According

to a research of the South African Water Resource Commission, the processes within the ABR

increase the time that the wastewater is in contact with the (sludge) which results in a higher

efficiency of the wastewater treatment as BOD may be reduced by up to 90% (Foxon, 2006). The ABR

is applicable on different scales from households to barangay level when a simplified sewage system

is implemented to connect a sufficient amount of households. Furthermore, the system is mostly

built underground its applicable when there is limited vacant space for implementation but has to be

accessible for vacuum trucks to remove the sludge from the septic tanks.

In 2006, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) constructed a communal septic tank

within a lower income area of Cebu City. This project was located in barangay Sambag Uno in which

60 households were assumed to be connected to this facility. The facility was designed to treat both

black and grey wastewater of the households but the households were never connected to the

wastewater treatment due to unclear protocols on who is allowed to be connected to the system

and who is not. The total implementation costs were around 870,000 peso which results in an

average investment of 13,000 peso per household (JICA, 2013). The questionable aspects of this

system are the design dimensions in which grey wastewater can be treated more simplified and the

waste load was established on 168l/capita/day which is 140% of the average water consumption in

the Philippines. Whenever more context relevant assumptions are made, in which only black

wastewater get discharged and the average black wastewater production is 50l/capita/day (MCWD,

2013), the cost per connected household will decrease to approximately 4,500 peso per household

which is a more feasible within the context of lower income areas.

http://akvopedia.org/wiki/Septic_Tank


22

Biological Rotatable Contractor (RBC) According to the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology ‘’Eawag’’, the Rotating

biological contactors (RBC) was developed in Germany in the late 1960's and a good option for

decentralized secondary wastewater treatment facility. A RBC consists’ out of a series of parallel

discs rotating on a central shaft and submerged into collected wastewater for about 40 % of their

surface. The shaft with the discs slowly rotates and therefore every part of the disc is alternately

submerged or in contact with the air. This process transports an efficient amount of oxygen in the

wastewater so after applying biochemical to the wastewater unwanted substances will dissolve.

Although the main benefits of this system lays in simplicity and low energy demanding aspects, these

facilities have shown to be less maintenance friendly as they assumed to be. The system need proper

cleaning after certain amount of running hours which is a job little are willing to do (Zandee, 2011).

Furthermore, this system can be used as a DWATS on barangay level whenever enough space is

available for the construction of this construction.

(Improved) Vertical Helophyte Filter System (VHFS) A vertical helophyte filter system is a secondary filter system in which the effluent of the primary filter system is discharged on a sand filter with a reed bed. The sand filter exists out of different layers that have different purposes within cleaning the solved substances out of the wastewater. The figure below shows a simplified cross section of a VHFS:

Figure 6: Cross section Vertical Helophyte Filter System

According to a report for the implementing of a VHFS made by Royal Haskoning in 2003, the

effectiveness of this system lays in the fact that when the filter bed dries up after discharging the

wastewater, oxygen infiltrates the filter bed that establishes a positive phosphate and nitrogen

decomposition (Blom, 2003). The reed bed is made from the reed, Phragmites australis or

Phragmites communis, which has the characteristics to transport oxygen from the air to its roots

through its hollow stem. Therefore an oxygen rich environment is created within the first 20cm of

the filter bed that creates an efficient aerobic decomposition of dissolved substances in the

wastewater. Furthermore other layers exist out of other types of soil to create an effective anaerobic

decomposition of anaerobic decomposable substances. This filter system is applicable within the

small projects in which a DWATS is implemented on sitio or barangay scale.


23

The filter system exists out of a filter bed that is capable to efficiently treat 60 litre /m2 /day. So with

an average consumption of 120 litre/pers. /day the filter system needs 2m2 of filter bed per person

to properly treat the wastewater. Furthermore the system is relatively inexpensive to implement and

most effective in the removal of unwanted BODs and CDOs on low and higher scale. Therefore this

DWATS is most applicable for small scale projects in which remote houses can be attached to a

secondary filter system to treat both grey and black wastewater. Although this system is applicable

for smaller scale target areas, the dimensions will be to fast whenever a high number of households

is attached to this system. However, new improved methods that have been introduced by the Dutch

engineering agency HAMAR in which the soil composition of composition B & C, see figure 6 are

exchanged with a 10cm sand layer followed by a 30cm rockwool layer. The roots of the reed plants

seem to expand more within this rockwool and therefore a rich biological environment is established

in the first 40cm of the filter bed in which. According to a research performed by this engineering

agency the intense increase of biological organisms increases the efficiency of the VHFS from

60/l/day/m2 to 160l/day/m2 (Baer, 2007). This makes the VHFS more applicable on larger scales with

the capacity rate that is nearly tripled.

4.1.3. Effluent

Due to the massive amount of mixed wastewater a conventional wastewater filter system must be

capable to purify both grey and black wastewater while mixed and mostly mixed with rain water. For

this reason large energy demanding facilities are filtering the wastewater as one waste load while

DWATS can be designed to separately collect the wastewater before it enters the filter system.

Therefore the treated mixed wastewater of a conventional is mostly waste and there are barely any

benefits attached to the effluent because the costs of obtaining wanted materials out of the

wastewater are mostly higher than the benefits. Due to the separate collection the effluent of

DWATS can be reformed more easily into wanted materials. For instance: biogas, phosphate (PO43)

and warmth. These materials normally get lost in the process but can make huge financial benefits

with phosphates running out worldwide and energy is becoming more and more expensive every

year (Sattari, 2012). According to a recent study of consultancy bureau DeSaH B.V. the phosphates

within the wastewater can be obtained by binding them with magnesium (Mg) that results into

magnesium-ammonium phosphate or better known as struvite (NH4MgPO4·6H2O) (agricultural

fertilizer). When the black wastewater is collected and combined with kitchen water the potential

efficiency of extracting PHO3 can be up to 50% while 20% of the total used phosphates are

discharged into the sewage system. Therefore about 10% of the used phosphates can be recycled

(Wiersma, 2011).

Furthermore biogas can be extracted from the settling tank in which the black wastewater is mixed

with the grey wastewater from the kitchen. According to Dr. S.P. Lohani researcher for the

International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, an estimation has been made that

every 51 liters one capita per day (black wastewater & kitchen water) it generates 40 g/capita/day.

Based on this principle a study was conducted in Nepal in which the results have shown that over

one person can generate about 3.5l to 3.6l of liquid biogas (equivalent to kerosene) over one year.


24

4.1.4. Most applicable system

DWATS can be designed in a variety of approaches depending on the context of the targeted area in

which location and budget are the most important aspects within the feasibility of the design.

Whenever a DWATS is implemented for a lower income area the dimensions of this system is an

important aspect since there is an exponential growth of prices within the different sizes of sewerage

pipes. As example: a Ø32mm PVC pipe costs 33 peso per meter; a Ø63mm PVC pipe costs 53 peso

per meter; and a Ø90mm PVC pipe costs 167 peso per meter. This rapid increase in prices is a well-

known aspect in designing sewerage systems and therefore, the most applicable sewerage within the

context of lower income areas in Cebu City, has to be limited to an affordable diameter of the pipes.

This limitation on the pipe dimensions are therefore also limiting the scale of the catchment area,

due to the fact that the pipes have a certain maximum velocity in which they can operate. Due to the

fact that most of the lower income areas are small settlements that are scattered over the city,

makes this type of simplified sewerage suitable in the context of this research.

The research aims on a solution for both black and grey wastewater pollution with the preconditions

that secondary wastewater treatment is included within the filtering process. The most suitable

primary wastewater treatments, based on available technical knowledge and availability of materials,

are communal septic tanks or anaerobic baffled reactors. After discussing the applicable secondary

wastewater treatment facilities within an interview with representatives of the MCWD and DOST VII,

the most cost efficient secondary wastewater filter system is the improved form of the vertical

helophyte filter due to the fact that all the needed equipment are available within the city

boundaries. The system is easily constructed and can sufficiently treat the wastewater 160l/m2/24h.

The active sludge within the primary filter systems can be cost beneficial with regards to the

extraction of biogas and phosphates. However, the scale in which the activated sludge is collected

and treated is dependent on the potential benefits of this aspect and therefore further cost analysis

aren’t reliable based on these uncertainties. The promising aspect of this set up is the fact that the

households are already connected to a certain sewage system instead of making use of individual

septic tanks or disposing their black wastewater directly to surface waters. Therefore, a step has

already been made towards an improved sewage system in which the wastewater management is

more controlled.

4.2. Private participation

In the 1980s Public-private collaboration emerged in the Netherlands as an instrument for

stimulating private investment in area development and large-scale infrastructure projects. The

reason for privatizing public services was that such private investment would benefit economic

development and attracting additional resources. Since that time, partnerships with the private

sector have become a key aspect of the Dutch development cooperation policy and applied in

multiple sectors. Therefore the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) launched a four-year program

called PPPLab Food & Water that aims to extract knowledge and methodological lessons from all

projects within the Sustainable Water Fund (FDW) which is a PPP facility to introduce PPP to a wider

range of communities and sectors within developing countries (PPPLab, 2014).. The Dutch Ministry of

Foreign Affairs speaks of a PPP as:


25

‘’A form of cooperation between government and business (in many cases also involving NGOs, trade

unions and/or knowledge institutions) in which they agree to work together to reach a common goal

or carry out a specific task, jointly assuming the risks and responsibility and sharing their resources

and competencies’’ (PPPLab, 2014).

Public- Private Partnership in Developing Countries Since privatizing public services and utilities became popular in the 1980s multiple countries

decentralized their urban Water & Sanitation services to a subnational government level. This

institutional reform is called vertical transfer and initiated by multiple international financial

institutions to create a more effective service because institutional and physical changes within the

water & sanitation sector can be done faster and more focused on the direct targets. Although

privatizing governmental utilities is recommended by multiple international financing institutes,

results of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) show that privatization has failed in a large quantity

within developing economies due to the effort of the privatization was often expedited without

sufficient premeditation, analyses and public consultation. Within these cases most of the developing

countries were driven into involve the private sector in water & sanitation services to meet condition

for aid and debt relief. Therefore they took PPP even while necessary institutional aspects within the

politics and governmental organizations weren’t in place yet. Basically the ADB concludes that PPP

projects within the water & sanitation sector is not a panacea to make it a success but the success is

mostly influenced by certain circumstances with regard to the institutional competence within the

developing countries. Lessons from the past point out that synergy between the public and private

sector will determine socially optimal outcomes of applying PPP projects within the water &

sanitation sector (ADB, 2008). Therefore private sector participation within the water & sanitation

sector aren´t encouraging within developing countries and upscaling this trend without thoroughly

understanding the local context under which the private sector can operate can result into a further

under developed situation.

According to the World Bank the most impressive privatization took place in former socialist

countries over the 1990s wherein the transition to market-oriented economies came in a form of an

unprecedented mass privatization of governmental utilities (World Bank, 2004). Generally speaking,

most non- governmental organizations (NGOs) are risk taker compared with private companies due

to the way they are funded and positioned between the government and the private sector. For this

reason NGOs have more knowledge and reasonable incentives to partner with both the government

and the private sector. NGOs from UN or the World Bank that were working on projects within the

water & sanitation sector have mostly failed due to their way of funding. Most of these projects only

had a short term of three years and therefore failed whenever the budget was stopped. Therefore,

partnerships between NGOs, GOs and the private sector can be an opportunity to tackle certain

issues within privatization elements of the water & sanitation sector.

Best Practice of Public- Private Partnerships in wastewater management in the Philippines In 1987 the Philippine Constitution recognized the Public- Private- Partnership (PPP) as a tool for

development in the Philippines. Due to this recognition the prominent role as main engine for

growth and development was in some sectors transferred to the private sector. The main reason of

this transfer was to make use of the resources to create a more sustainable and efficient way to

utilize services like water & sanitation. The Philippine PPP was grounded on the Build- Operate-and-


26

Transfer (BOT) Law. By the laws and regulations of Republic Act No. 6957 and its amendment (R.A.

7718, this BOT Law created an institutional framework to make PPPs possible in the development of

the Philippines (BOT-Center, 2012). According to the World Bank, a recent study on economic

impacts of sanitation in the Philippines revealed that due to poor sanitation has led to an estimated

cost of 1.4 billion USD which is equivalent to about 1.5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for

2005. Within these costs 1 billion USD (70%) was estimated to be health impacts only and the

remaining costs mostly exist out of the depletion of water resource. The latest data from the World

Health Organization (WHO) revealed that in 2011 already 74% of the people within the Philippines

had access to improved sanitation according to a Joint Monitoring Program in 2013 but still 25 million

people didn’t have this access yet.

Furthermore this improved sanitation access consists mostly (>85%) out of septic tanks and

unfortunately most of them aren’t constructed on an appropriate way. In 2007, the World Bank

reported that most of these septic tanks have an open bottom and less than 1% of these tanks

undergo regular desludging with an acceptable treatment and disposal (WEPA, 2013). The World

Bank also calculated in 2003 that the Philippines generates about 7.2 million cubic meters (MCM) of

domestic wastewater per day and unfortunately less than 10% of this amount is actually treated in

sewage treatment plants (STPs) or communal septic tanks (CSTs). To improve the water supply and

sanitation sector in the Philippines the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) has

been tasked to provide better sanitation and sewerage systems since 1970. When the Philippine

Clean Water Act of 2004 was in introduced the MWSS was directly involved with the DENR, the DOH

and the DPWH. Within this direct involvement the DENR serves as the lead organization in

introducing rules and regulation with regard to the disposal of wastewater.

Together with the DOH the DENR is also responsible for carrying out reforms where the DOHs prior

responsibility is creating and enforcing standards for septage and sludge disposal. The DPWH is

assigned responsibility for the preparation of a National Sewerage and Septage Management Plan

(NSSMP) (LAWPhil, 2004). This establishment was an indirect end to the full governmental control of

wastewater management in the Philippines as the MWSS signed a 25-year concession in 1997 with

two private water utilities for the implementation of advanced water supply and sanitation services

in Metro Manila. The MWSS decided to apply a PPP to transfer the financial burden to the private

sector and improving the service standards and operational efficiencies. Although this utility was

privatized the concession agreement still consisted out of an asset owner and regular role of the

MWSS and therefore there would always be governmental control over the water and sanitation

provision. Within the Island of Luzon the MWSSs service area was divided into East and West Zones

and two private water utilities were Manila Water Company Inc. (MWCI) that was based within the

East zone and the Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MWSI) that was based in the West Zone. According

to the MCWI the most challenging best practices within the whole concession were:

Technical and financial challenges in which the MWCI opted for a centralized sewerage system as a

technical solution to meet the original sewerage target but due to the massive infrastructural

network that a centralized sewage treatment plant needs the MCWI decided to decentralize their

wastewater treatment into 35 smaller STPs. Land availability was also one of the biggest challenges

due to the dense population and the amount of traffic jams that every operation cost when laying

the pipelines. Pro-active participation and endorsement of stakeholders wherein it was hard to keep

on getting approval for permits from all the LGUs to continue implementing structures and pipelines


27

within their region. This was causing a severe delay. Coordination among different governmental

agencies was important due to the level of responsibility of certain aspects that hamper the project

like solid waste management. Due to the disposal of solid waste many treatment plants got clogged

which is also a responsibility of the LGUs. Therefore close interaction between LGUs is a very

important aspect of the project. Furthermore, Social acceptance and Public awareness is an

important aspect of the project. When the population wants a cleaner environment they are also

enforced to pay for the costs and pay sanctions when rules and regulations aren’t practiced

according to the new principles (MWCI, 2012).

Using private participation as a tool to success According to recent studies of the University of Colorado, the government and private companies

should partner to make water & sanitation projects more sustainable. Within this collaboration both

parties will be using less resources in which the responsibility over the wastewater management is

better structured (Solana, 2014). The figure below shows how this type of collaboration can be

established in which private investors can support a not for profit project that outsources the

construction & maintenance to the private sector who hands it over to the barangay officials within

the target area. The blue arrows represent investment, the red arrows represent back pay and the

green arrow represents service provision

Figure 7: Using Private investment

Within this organizational flow model the MCWD lets the private sector invest in a certain area in

which the state of wastewater management affects their capital. In collaboration with the

Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Environment & Natural Resources design aspects of

the project are established. After accordance is made the construction phase will be outsourced to a

private company in which the technical knowledge of the private sector is used to develop the most

sustainable facility. The technical designs must comply with the design specifications which the

Department of Public Works & Highways (DPWH) enforces. After the construction the project is

handed over to the barangay officials that are responsible to record and report deficiencies within

the system. The private constructing company is than obliged to solve the deficiencies in which the


28

DENR and MCWD are the main monitors of this phase. The back pay comes in the form of an

acceptable annual connection fee that the MCWD obliges people to pay if they aren’t able to provide

their own primary wastewater filter system. This annual connection fee will be a direct back payment

to the private investors and the preliminary established maintenance costs of the facility. Within this

organizational structure multiple organizations and have a clear and specific roll within the

wastewater sector and therefore, there is a higher probability that the rules and regulations are

enforced properly monitored due to the fact that private investment is on stake.

Private investors The selected private investors are chosen due to their potential benefits within improving the current

state of wastewater management in Cebu City. These potential investors are large land owners

within Cebu and all over the Philippines in which they serve the citizens with housing projects, IT

business parks, megamalls and other spatial development plans. Although they provide the

Cebuano’s with state of the art structure like Ayala Mall, SM City and the IT business park in Lahug,

these project are all influenced by the poverty around their property boundaries in which the level of

environmental pollution affects their capacity to attract foreign capital to invest in their spatial

development programs. With the upcoming rise of tourism there aren’t many places left for well

running resorts due to the fact that most surface waters are all severely polluted. For these reason

private involvement becomes interesting for both parties.

4.3. Ability & Willingness to pay

One of the main concepts within the process of finding a feasible wastewater filter system in the

context of Cebu City is having a clear view on how much the targeted citizens are able to pay for an

improved wastewater filter system. Besides their ability it’s also important to create a clear view on

their willingness to pay in which their view of urgency becomes visible. To obtain knowledge on

these aspects a qualitative interview was conducted with in which the inhabitant in lower income

areas were questioned on wastewater related aspects. Furthermore, a middle income area was

interviewed to reflect the results on their ability to pay for an improved wastewater treatment and

their wastewater management. The questionnaire and results are described in appendix 4. The main

goals within these interviews were:

- Obtaining knowledge on their average water consumption (context)

- Obtaining knowledge on the state of their wastewater treatment and the costs of proper

septic tank maintenance (context & ability to pay)

- Obtaining knowledge on the average income per household (ability to pay)

- Obtaining knowledge on the willingness to pay

- Obtaining knowledge on the popularity of privatizing this service (Private participation)

Within the interview objectives there are multiple aspects that were obtained to create practical

knowledge on the earlier discussed concepts in which their wastewater management was analysed

and their opinion on the privatization of the wastewater sector.


29

The locations of these interviews were:

- Settlements along the Lahug River: Sudlon, Barangay Lahug, East of the DOST VII Regional

office complex, in which 20 lower income households were interviewed; December 2014

- Private owned settlements: Kamagong street, Barangay Lahug, in which 10 middle income

households were interviewed; January 2015

The results of these interviews are shown below:

Table 2: Interview results

Interview results

Average amount of

persons per household

Average daily water

consumption (l/capita/day)

Costs of proper septic tank

maintenance (peso)

Annual average Income per household

(peso)

Annual average

Income capita/ day (peso)

Willingness to pay per household

(peso)

Private VS

Public service

Lower Income 9,3 107

1.000

325.200

96 385 50/50

Middle income 7,6 130

1.500

994.600

358 1340 80/20

Interpretation of the results From the results of the interview the conclusion can be made that in both lower class and middle

class households have a large amount of persons per household. However, the houses within the

middle income areas have a land area that is mostly double the amount of land area that the

inhabitants of lower income areas have. Therefore the conclusion can be made that the households

within the lower income areas are mostly overpopulated compared with the households in middle

income areas. Furthermore there is a significant difference between the water consumption. This

aspect can be explained by the fact that the water pressure within the lower income areas is lower

due to the chaotic set up of supply pipes compared with the well-structured water supply lines in

middle income areas. The maintenance costs of proper septic tank maintenance costs was lower in

the lower income areas due to the fact that the mostly hire a desludging company together and get

group prices. However, these costs are still around an annual cost of 1,000 peso based on the fact

that the desludging costs around 3,500 peso and once every 3 years. These costs are observed as the

ability to pay for improved wastewater management due to the fact that this is a direct payment for

wastewater treatment already.

The annual income per household seems high but due to the fact that there are a large amount of

persons in each household the average daily income per capita is estimated on 96 peso which is less

than 2 euros. Although the costs of living are far less than in the Netherlands, this is still around the

international poverty level of $1.25 (UNICEF, 2015). Based on these results it’s assumable that the

willingness to pay is as low as the results show, compared with the middle income. However, most of

these citizens are still able to pay for the maintenance of their septic tank and therefore this specific

amount of budget can be translated into an ability to pay whenever these costs are vanished due to

sewerage connection. Furthermore, in the lower income areas most citizens weren’t fond of

privatizing the wastewater sector in which they were skeptic about possible price increases and

unaffordable connection rates. However, the citizens within the middle income were more

convinced that the private sector would make improved wastewater filtering more sustainable and

therefore were fonder of the private participation within the wastewater sector of Cebu City.


30

5. Feasibility study: Lorega To create a clear view on the applicability of a DWATS in the context of Cebu City Barangay Lorega is

chosen as pilot project due to the alarming state of their current wastewater management. Within

this chapter, the results of chapter 3 and 4 are taken into account to develop the most integrated

solution on the wastewater related problems in Lorega. To create a clear view of the current situation

field research was performed on the 1st of December, 2014 under guidance of Sir Lasaro P. Salvacion

(Dept. Manager of Water Resources & Knowledge Center, MCWD) and Barangay captain Fritzgerald

D. Herreda . This chapter will give a clear view over the current situation and the applicability of a

DWATS.

Context On the 19th of March 2012, about 40% of Barangay Lorega was destroyed due to a fire that started in

one of the structures. The fire spread quickly to the other structures due to the high density of the

structures. Besides the rapid expanding fire the second problem was that the firefighters weren’t

able to drive their fire trucks to the fire because the roads were too narrow. According to councilor

Dave Tumulak, the damage caused by the fire was devastating and 7000 inhabitants lost their houses

and their belongings. The fire destroyed ca. 500 houses which is equivalent to 8 building blocks

(Philstar, 2014). After the fire measurements had to be taken to prevent this event from happening

again. Therefore Mayor Michael L. Rama, mayor of Cebu City, implemented an ordinance to limit the

amount of land area of each household to surface area of 12m2 (‘’12m2 ordinance’’). This way, there

will be enough space for fire fighter trucks to reach every part of the Barangay because the roads can

be constructed with a sufficient width of ≥3m (which is already below the Dutch norm of 3.5m). This

ordinance will make the Barangay less vulnerable in case of fire but according to Lasaro P. Salvacion,

the limited amount of space leaves the inhabitants with an insufficient amount of space to

implement their septic tanks. For this reason the LGU has to attach the houses to a central sewage

system for barangay Lorega but those measurements haven’t been taken or proposed yet.

The total amount of registered houses

in Lorega is 846 according to the city

planning map. Furthermore there is one

exciting compound and two proposed

compounds where ca. 180 households

can be placed. The figure on the right

shows the spatial plan of barangay

Lorega in which the fluently red and

orange marked areas are representing

the households that have a surface area

of either 10m2 or 12m2. In appendix 5

Surface Area Map Lorega the exact

surface areas of all renewed structures

are given.

Sanitation During the field research in Barangay Lorega on the 1st of December 2014, multiple cases of open

sewages were observed and a strong odor nuisance of black wastewater was detected. These

Figure 8: Area of 12m2 households: Lorega


31

streams of sewage water are draining in alternative drainage channels located in front of the houses

and at some points draining across the streets unregulated. According to Barangay captain

Fritzgerald D. Herreda , this sewage water is a combination of grey and black wastewater coming

from the different households that are under the 12m2 ordinance and from an overflowing septic

tank of a condo called ‘’Gawad Kalinga’’ where 60 households are attached to one 36m3 combined

septic tank. The building is occupied by ca. 350 persons that would result to a total water

consumption of ±42m3 when assumed that one person discharges 120l/ day1 onto the sewer

(120l*350 pers. /1000). These results show that when the actual water consumption at the

compound or the total amount of inhabitants is as high as the average daily amount while

wastewater should rest at least 8 days within a septic tank. Due to the current deficiencies in the

wastewater management of Lorega the situation has become alarming since proper sanitation is the

main tool to secure public health. The neglect of proper wastewater treatment must be seen as an

opportunity for both the Local Government and inhabitants of Lorega to find an integrated and low

cost solution on the wastewater collection and filtering. The main obstructions within this issue are

budget, space and finding a suitable wastewater filter system.

The 12m2 ordinance can be seen as well as a disadvantage for the citizens of Lorega to construct their

septic tank as well as an advantage for the implementation of a sewerage system. The narrowest

streets are 3m wide and can go up to 10m at Lorega Road. Therefore the construction of a

conventional sewerage would be a tight process in which the infrastructural mobility within Lorega

will be heavily obstructed. By using smaller pipelines that have been used in a simplified sewage

system (paragraph 4.1) all households that are under the 12m2 ordinance can be connected to a

sewerage system within causing much obstruction. Figure 9 shows the exact area of Lorega that’s on

the 12m2 ordinance (colored red). Within these red colored building blocks there are still a few

households that range up from 15m2 to 20m2 but they will also be taken into account. The total

amount is around 429 houses and another 160 households within the yellow colored area that

represents two proposed buildings that can occupy 200 persons each. These facts result in a total of

1,538 persons, see appendix 5 Lorega Target Area.

Figure 9: Barangay Lorega, Target area & Potential construction areas

1 120l /person/day = average water consumption, source: MCWD


32

DWATS Within most DWATS the primary wastewater treatment comes in the form of a communal septic

tank or anaerobic baffled reactors. These systems are large champers in which the wastewater

settles and where most of the organic matter gets decomposed due to the anaerobic environment.

The rule of thumb is that wastewater needs to rest at least 8 days within a primary treatment basin

before being discharged on the secondary wastewater filter. The map above shows two public spaces

that can be used as storage for the collected wastewater for primary treatment (paragraph 5.4). The

total amount of space is ± 1,500m2 but due to a newly enforced ordinance in which it´s prohibited to

construct buildings in a range of 3m of the riverbed.

According to the CCRMC1 chairman J. C. Daluz III, this ordinance was enforced as a tool to limit the

damage during flood events because most of the floods are caused by construction along, above and

sometimes along the river that obstruct the river to maintain its natural flow (Daluz, 2014). Besides

the function of retention area for flood events this area can also be used as primary collection point

as well as a secondary wastewater treatment area in the form of a helophyte filter system. The

distance between the basketball court and the river bed is ±180 meters as the crow flies and another

90m towards the park. Although this area can be used as a filter, the primary filter system would be

more applicable when it’s constructed underground so no valuable public space will get lost.

Although due to this requirement most of the sewerage can function on gravitational force due the

space difference, it’s more expensive to build underground.

The in paragraph 4.1 described communal septic tanks are the most applicable primary wastewater

filter system within the context of Lorega due to the fact that the materials and technical knowledge

is available within the city boundaries. To reduce the cost within the construction of the wastewater

facility, the dimensions will be lowered as much as possible and therefore the most feasible set up is

a filter system wherein only the black wastewater gets primary treatment. Whenever the costs of the

project of Sambag Uno are reflected on the situation of Lorega, in which a total amount of 1,538

citizens daily discharge 50 liters of wastewater into the system, the total costs of this project is

estimated on 2.8 million peso. This results in an average investment of 1,800 peso per household.

Based on the quotation of an earlier conducted report on the implementation of vertical helophyte

filter systems in the context of Davao City, the costs of the improved VHFS have been estimated

around the 2 million peso for the complete treatment of both black and grey wastewater treatment

of 1538 citizens. The costs of a conventional sewerage system in Cebu City are hard to estimate due

to the fact that it’s never been implemented in Cebu City and there are no suppliers of materials.

Although in paragraph 4.1 is explained that the simplified systems are around 30% to 50% of the

costs of a conventional filter system it wouldn’t be clear how high the costs of this implementation

will cost. However, the materials needed for a simplified filter system are available all over the

country as is experienced in previous projects in the Philippines under guidance of the HELP-Davao

Network, in which a fully function Vertical Helophyte Filter System (VHFS) was constructed to treat

the wastewater of the DOST XII Regional Office in Davao City (HELP Davao Network, 2013). Within

this report a complete quotation was made and with an average inflation rate of 2% per year the

prices of the materials of this sewerage system can be estimated. The total costs of a simplified

sewerage system are estimated on 3 million peso which results in total cost of 2,000 peso per capita.

1 CCRMC: Cebu City River Management Counsel


33

The house connection will be around 2 million PHP which results in a total PHP 4,000 per household.

This cost isn’t taken into account in the Netherlands in which the sewerage service utilizer is only

responsible for the connection on the sewerage system and not for the wastewater distribution

systems within the land area of the connected households. Therefore the implementation cost can

drop with 60% whenever the connected houses provide their own wastewater distribution system

within their own property.

Ability & Willingness to pay Although no interviews were conducted directly with the inhabitants of Lorega, the average income

per household is about 5,000 to 10,000 peso according to Barangay captain Fritzgerald D. Herreda.

The difference in the different income can be derived from the quantity of employed persons per

household. With an average of 7,500 peso per household these citizens belong to the lower- middle

income group as is explained in chapter 4.5. By taking the results of the interviews (Ch. 4.5) and

taking the assumption to interpret them as standards for a willingness to pay per income of a

household, the conclusion can be made that the willingness to pay lies around 500 peso per

household. Their ability to pay is around 1,000 to 1,500 peso per household.

Costs & Benefits With an expected annual back pay of 1000 peso per household and an estimated project

sustainability of 20 years the costs & benefits are estimated over a time period of 20 years with an

and inflation rate of 3.6%. Based these assumption and the total project cost of 5.8M + 50,000 peso

per year on maintenance, the investment will have a rate of return of 15 years. In 20 years the

present value of the benefits are 1.6M peso on a 6.8M peso investment which is an interest of ±1.2%

including the annual inflation. The figure below shows how private investors can benefit within long

term investment in wastewater management.

Figure 10: Costs & Benefits: Project Lorega


34

6. Conclusion Within this research the main objective is finding a way to make improved wastewater management

for domestic wastewater feasible in the context of Cebu City. To obtain this objective multiple

research questions have been answered under the main research question:

What are the possibilities for improved wastewater management in the lower income

areas of Cebu City?

The sub-questions within this research are: 1 What is the current state of sanitation & wastewater management in Cebu City? 2 What are the possibilities for decentralized wastewater treatment in the lower income areas

of Cebu City? 3 How can private participation be used as a tool to make improved wastewater management

feasible in Cebu City? 4 What is the ability and willingness to pay for an improved wastewater management?

Furthermore, a feasibility study is performed to create a clear view on the applicability of different

types of wastewater treatment facilities. The answers on these questions are listed below.

State of wastewater management Cebu city is highly urbanized and there is limited surface water or public spaces to retain water in a

flood event. Therefore the city is dependent on its (partly) open rainwater drainage system to

distribute the rainfall to the river systems. These drainage channels are also used for the distribution

of unfiltered grey and wastewater and therefore are highly polluted and biologically dead within the

urbanized delta area of Cebu City. After interviewing Cebu City River Management Council chairman

Joey Daluz and conducting a field research along the Lahug River and Mahinga Creek on how the

domestic wastewater is collected and treated the deficiencies within the wastewater management of

Cebu City became visible. The grey wastewater is directly discharged on the open drainage channels

and the black wastewater is collected in septic tanks that are poorly maintained. Furthermore, the

slip that is collected after desludging the septic tank isn’t treated sufficiently due to the defective

state of the designated facility. From these results the conclusion is made that there is an urgent

need of improved wastewater management in Cebu City to prevent further damage to the

environment and to decrease the health risks caused by open sewerage. Besides these alarming

aspects within the current state of wastewater management there are patterns within the

settlement of needy citizens in which they settle themselves mostly along water frontal location in

which direct disposal of black wastewater is the practical reality.

DWATS Within other South-East Asian countries like Indonesia similar deficiencies within the wastewater

management were tackled by implementing decentralized wastewater filter systems (DWATS) that

are operated and maintained by the community. These projects were mostly successfully conducted

due to the level of involvement of the users of the facilities and this can be easily adopted in the

process of improving the current state of wastewater management in Cebu City. By improving the

current state of wastewater management in Cebu City it’s essential to focus on public health and

environmental pollution and therefore the complete removal of unfiltered black and grey

wastewater in surface waters is the main priority. Due to lack of budget, space and available


35

equipment or technicians it’s not advisable to construct a conventional sewerage system but instead

make use of simplified sewerage system that is specifically designed for its catchment area. This

method creates a higher degree of feasibility for the implementation of sewerage systems in lower

income areas. These systems can be attached on a diversity of small scale and low cost wastewater

treatment systems depending on the budget and the catchment area of the system. The costs within

this set up are relatively small compared with a conventional sewerage system due to the fact that

the rainwater is removed from the water chain as it’s detached from the wastewater distribution

process. Furthermore, this separation of domestic wastewater from rainwater has the potential

benefits that the urine and feces can also be separated from the grey wastewater. Within this set up

the wastewater facility can be designed for the extraction of biogas or agricultural fertilizer in the

form of magnesium-ammonium phosphate. By attaching the kitchen sink to this system it increases

the level of biochemical organism and phosphate in the wastewater so more a higher efficiency of

extraction can be obtained.

Public- Private- Partnership as feasibility tool Public- private- partnership (PPP) can be used as an instrument for stimulating private investment in

area development and large-scale infrastructure projects but in smaller projects it can also be

beneficial when multiple smaller projects get paid of faster due to a lower investment and a faster

back payment. The question of making the facility sustainable enough for a sufficient repayment in a

decent amount of time makes it interesting for the private sector to construct sustainable and cost

effective wastewater distribution and filter system.

Willingness & ability to Pay Within the Philippines the average monthly salary lays around 11,000 PHP that is equivalent to 200

euro per month and 25% of the population is living under the poverty according to the results of the

World Bank. Therefore the ability to pay for a sewerage system will be around the 1,000 peso to

1,500 PHP per year. According to the results of the interviews not all inhabitants of Cebu City make

use of proper wastewater treatment facilities and most septic tanks aren’t properly maintained.

Whenever the septic tanks are maintained properly the costs will be around the 3,000 peso per 3 to

4 years for desludging the septic tank depending on the location from the septic tank. When the

septic tank is hard to access due to the high density of the buildings the charges will be higher.

Furthermore the construction of a septic tank is around 10,000 peso and therefore the total costs of

a septic tank will be around 19,000 peso in 10 years with proper maintenance. These costs will

increase with an average of 9,000 peso every 10 years. Therefore a communal sewerage will be cost

beneficial for the first 20 years whenever a household connection fee is less than 1,450 peso per

year. According to the interview results the average Willingness to pay lays far below underneath this

quotation but this can increase by properly informing the inhabitants about the costs and benefits on

a time scale of 20 years.

Applicability The feasibility of implementing an improved domestic wastewater filter system in the context of

Cebu City is analyzed by conducting a feasibility study on the applicability of a DWATS in Barangay

Lorega. The results off the research question form a base for measurement during the process of

analyzing the applicability of DWATS based on budget, space and the most suitable wastewater filter

system. In Barangay 500 houses were burned to the ground after a huge fire that couldn’t be


36

controlled by the firemen due to the high density of the buildings. To prevent this event from

happening again the city council enforced a spatial plan in which the land area per household is

limited 10m2 to 12m2 which gives the inhabitants an insufficient amount of space to construct their

septic tanks. The inhabitants are therefore forced to discharge their wastewater into the (partly)

open drainage channels causing huge risks to the public health and environmental damage.

According to Barangay captain Fritzgerald D. Herreda, it´s essential to make use of the most

simplified system possible in which the level of maintenance and costs has to be decreased as much

as possible. Although their willingness to pay is around 500 peso per year their ability to pay lays

higher due to the cost saving aspect that the implementation of a septic is a direct investment of

≥10,000 peso plus maintenance expenses around 1,000 peso per year. Therefore the inhabitants are

able to pay a yearly connection fee of ≥1,000 peso/ household/ year in which they also preserve 2m2

of their land area that isn’t needed for a septic tank.

The most applicable wastewater sewerage systems within the context of Lorega are underground

communal septic tanks and anaerobic baffled reactors due to their simplicity in construction and

maintenance. These systems basically only cover the primary treatment of the wastewater and

therefore secondary treatment can be best implemented in the form of an improved vertical

helophyte filter system due to its efficiency, simplicity and cost saving aspects, see paragraph 4.2).

The costs of implementing a combination of these facilities within the context of Lorega are

estimated on a total of 8.5 million peso in which the implementation of the primary treatment

exclusively costs 6.6 million peso. The rate of return with an inflation rate of 3,6% will be 14 years

with a connection fee payment of 1,450 peso per household per year without a secondary filter

system. With secondary an improved vertical helophyte filter system as secondary filter system the

rate of return will be 19 years but less when governmental grants are given for the implementation

phase. Besides financial benefits there are unmeasured benefits with regards to obtaining the public

health and the decrease environmental pollution will within Lorega and therefore budget must be

made available by the NSSMP for supporting private investors within the implementation phase of

these small scale projects as done in Barangay Sambag Uno.


37

7. Recommendation This chapter describes the recommendation that is made after performing research on the

possibilities of low cost wastewater filter systems in Cebu City. The main concepts of this research on

the possibilities of low cost wastewater filter systems in Cebu City are; the current state of sanitation,

decentralized wastewater filter systems (DWATS), private participation and the willingness & ability

to pay. Furthermore, a feasibility study to create a clear view on what type of sewerage and

wastewater filter system is most applicable within a practical problem. The obtained results off this

research can be used as tools to increase the feasibility of wastewater filter system in the context of

Cebu City in middle and lower income areas. The introduction describes the on what base the location

of the recommendation is chosen in which the wider applicability is an important aspect. Within the

technical design the aspects of making the recommendation feasible with regards to DWATS are is

taken into account. In the costs and benefits the aspects of ability to pay and private investment are

taken into account which concludes the feasibility of the recommendation.

Introduction Most of the deficiencies with regard to improper wastewater management are found in the lower

income areas which are spread out in small land areas all over the city but for mostly along riverbeds

and within coastal areas. This described situation is well known in the Philippines wherein the capital

city Manila and other cities bigger cities Like Davao and Tacloban experience the same patterns in

which water frontal areas are mostly occupied by small (illegal) settlements in which the poverty rate

is high. Therefore the solution lays in decentralized wastewater filter system within low income areas

due to the fact that within middle class areas proper wastewater treatment is performed and the

hotspots are scattered over the city. Furthermore, the national standards of the Philippines oblige

the citizens to have a form of primary wastewater facility which is mostly executed in the form of a

septic tank but tolerates direct disposal of unfiltered grey wastewater into surface waters. The

standards within the Netherlands are established in such a way that the treatment of black and grey

wastewater must include secondary treatment before its discharged on surface- or ground waters.

Within the process of finding the most applicable form of low cost wastewater filtering system in

Cebu City the challenge lays within finding a feasible DWATS for lower income in which black and

grey wastewater undergo primary and secondary treatment. For these reasons the recommendation

of this research is implementing a low cost wastewater filter system for primary and secondary

wastewater filtering in the lower income areas of Cebu City. Barangay Lorega is a suitable location for

a pilot project based on the alarming situation of wastewater management that can be reflected on

other parts within Cebu city and other cities within the Philippines. Therefore the recommendation is

widely applicable within cities within the Philippines.

Technical Design Within chapter 5, multiple ways of wastewater treatment and distribution were assessed on their

applicability in the context of Barangay Lorega. These drafts form a base for the recommendation of

this research. The design of the recommendation has similarities with the designs that are described

in chapter 5 and paragraph 4.2 based on the sewerage, primary- and secondary wastewater

treatment. To create a clear view on the different aspects of the technical design the same approach

is taken into account as is done in paragraph 5.2 in which the DWATS is described in:

- Sewerage system

- Wastewater Filter system & Effluent


38

Sewerage system The sewerage system will be implemented in the form of a simplified sewerage system in which the

black wastewater is combined with the wastewater coming from the kitchen sink. In this way the

collected mixed wastewater will be rich on organic materials and phosphates that can be used for the

production of agricultural fertilizer or biogas. To sufficiently distribute the wastewater Ø160mm

pipes will be used for the drainage of the kitchen water in combination with the black wastewater in

which the maximum velocity is estimated on 0,65m/sec, see the illustration below. The grey

wastewater will be transported separately to the secondary wastewater filter system before going

through a grease trap. This way the relatively expensive primary wastewater treatment system can

be built on a lower capacity in which the expected grey wastewater load coming from the shower

and laundry is ≥70l/capita/day (Bakalian, 2000). Therefore implementation of an extra Ø160mm pipe

for the distribution of this waste load is a cost saving aspect and will create higher efficiency during

the process off extracting useful substances out of the wastewater. The maximum velocity will be

much higher within these pipes due to the fact most people are showering on certain times during

the day (morning/ evening). To anticipate on this pattern the Dutch government decided that a

sewerage system must be able to discharge 10 hours of the total wastewater load in 1 hour.

According to these standards the maximum velocity in these pipes will be 1,26m/sec wherein:

According to a study on simplified sewerage system the maximum velocities in this type of PVC pipe

shouldn’t be higher than v=1.5 so according to these standards the system is properly dimensioned

on its expected capacity.

Figure 11: Cross section of sewerage connection: 12m2 households - Lorega

Wastewater filter system The recommended primary wastewater filter system is a communal septic tank similar to the septic

tank designed and implemented by JICA in Sambag Uno in 2006 due to the availability of the

materials and technology. This system will be extended with an extra capability for the removal of


39

the sludge within the first anaerobic chamber of the system. Whenever this sludge is collected it will

contain a large dose of BODs and phosphates due to the technical design of the sewerage system.

This sludge can be used for biogas or agricultural fertilizer which has financial benefits for the

feasibility of this project. Due to the complicity of this system it’s not recommended to construct this

facility within the barangay but it can be dredged and sold.

The primary treatment basin will be situated at park because of its central location and due to fact

that the basketball area can be used in the future for other parts of the barangay whenever this

project gets adopted by the surrounding neighbors. The facility will have a depth of 3.8m and has a

capacity to sufficiently filter 93m3 of wastewater per day. The secondary filter system comes in the

form of an improved Vertical Helophyte Filter system which has the same design aspect as is

described in chapter 4.2. The system will be located along the Lahug River west of the target area

and the facility will be operated by a pump system that starts at located at west end of Lorega Street.

At this location the wastewater will be evenly divided over the filter system by making use of sub

pumping station every 30m in which the equal distribution of the wastewater will be obtained, see

the illustration below. The soil composition of the filter system will be set up as explained in

paragraph 4.2 and further construction advisory can be found in the Vertical Helophyte Filter

Construction Report in which the total implementation is reported in stages (HELP Davao Network,

2013). The total length of the system will be ±390m so 13 sub pumping stations have to be built with

a one cubic meter collection well to be able to catch fluctuations in the water supply.

Figure 12: Cross section - Improved Verical Helophyte Filter System along the Lahug River - Lorega

One of the main characteristic of this filter system is that it’s fully saturated with phosphates in

approximately 20 years in which the total soil composition must be refilled. The old soil can be used

for the extraction of sulvites which is cost beneficial although actual numbers on this process aren’t

really established as in phosphates are still affordable but according to recent studies running out

within a time period of ±20 years.


40

Cost & Benefits The costs of this recommendation have been estimated on the lowest implementation- and

maintenance costs +10%. Within this quotation the total cost of the sewerage system is estimated on

1.1 million peso in which the costs per household connection will increase with 1,000 peso per

household due to the fact that the kitchen and toilet water will be combined within one system. The

total catchment will be 329 houses and two compounds which are equivalent to 120 households. For

each household an annual connection fee of 1,000 peso. The primary filter system is designed on a

waste load of 60l/capita/ day due to the fact that the grey from the shower and laundry is collected

and treated separately. This aspect decreased the total cost of the primary filter system with 2.6

million peso but increased the costs of the secondary filter system with 50,000 peso for the

implementation of a grease trap at the entrance of the improved VHFS. The total cost of the

secondary filter system are 1.9M and the maintenance cost are established on 50,000 peso per year

in which halve of the budget is used as employment and the other halve on material costs. The

employment costs are based on a working schedule of 1 hour per day with a salary of 60 peso per

hour exclusive VAT and can be best performed by barangay officials due to the simplicity of the

system. The map below describes the location of the different construction and their prices.

Appendix 5 gives a complete quotation of the recommended intervention.

Figure 13: Project costs & Location - Lorega

Benefits for the investor The implementation of this recommended DWATS will be a sufficient tool to decrease the level of

environmental pollution caused by the current wastewater management and therefore will have

effect on the public health in which proper sanitation is the first tool to obtain public health.

However, projects whit regard to improving sanitation within the lower income areas of Cebu City

will not stand a chance on being implemented without cost beneficial aspects of this project. Due to

the fact that the research results conclude that private participation is a sufficient tool to make this

project feasible it´s important to create a clear view on the financial benefits of this project. The basic

back pay of this project will come in the form of an annual connection fee that is established on

1,000 peso based on the ability to pay. The costs benefits are set up in a time period of 20 years with


41

an inflation rate of 3,6% due to the fact that most of the materials that are used in this project have a

sustainability factor of approximately 20 years. The equation below shows how the financial back pay

is estimated for a time period of 20 years.

Ri: Return of investment Fee: Annual connection fee per household Qc Amount of connected houses i: Inflation/ interest t: Time

The total back pay will be around 8.5 million peso in 20 years with an annual connection fee of 1,000

peso. By observing the other rates the conclusion can be made that with an annual connection fee of

2,000 peso (middle class ability to pay) more advanced and larger systems are applicable. These rates

can be used as guidelines for lower and middle class incomes in which they are the main factor in

which DWATS are designed and dimensioned.

Table 3: Costs & Benefits: Project Lorega

Benefits for the citizen According to national standards of the

Republic of the Philippines the inhabitants of

Lorega are obliged to primary treat their

wastewater and therefore they are basically

forced to construct a septic tank which is the

most available solution. The septic tank costs

will be approximately ≥10,000 peso for the

implementation and 1,000 peso for annual

maintenance. Besides losing 2 to 3 meter of

land area for the construction, this system will

/cost around 28,000 peso in 20 years with a

direct investment of 10,000 peso. Table 3

shows the benefits per household which

results in almost 50% of the costs of a septic

tank.

Uncalculated benefits The benefits with regards to the extraction of phosphates and biogas aren’t calculated on their

potential value due to the fact that there are a significant amount of uncertainties about their future

value and the costs within the process of extracting the biogas and phosphate although they are

expected to be cost beneficial. The decrease of environmental pollution and the effect on public

health will have a high range of beneficial aspects but will be visible whenever this type of

wastewater treatment is implemented on a larger scale. The direct benefits with regard to the

environmental recovery and the preservation of the public health have to be analyzed within the

process of running the system due to the debut status of the intervention in the current context.

Total project costs

Filter system

Php

1.985.349

Sewage system

Php

1.084.765

Primary Filter System Php

2.749.415

Total cost of intervention in million Php

5.819.528

Maintenance costs per year Php

50.000

TOTAL PROJECT COSTS IN 20 YEARS Php

6.819.528

Cost per capita in Php

3.784

Cost per household in Php

13.502

Cost of septic tank in 20 years

Php

28.000

Benefits per household in 20 years Php

14.498

TOTAL BENEFITS (20 years)

Php

8.370.000


42

Discussion Within this research answers were found on the different research questions by using different

approaches. The specific methods that have been used are applied due to their applicability within

the process of the research. However, these methods are primarily based on personal knowledge

and can be criticized in such a way that the results within this research become inadequate or even

unacceptable. This chapter is dedicated to create a clear view on where this research is or can be

hampered by uncertainties and where data is missing.

Wastewater system analyses

The wastewater system analysis took a significant larger amount of time than most other results due

to the unavailability of recent conducted water system analysis. Most researches and governmental

documents that are available are outdated or showed an inadequate description of the reality.

Therefore field research is conducted along the Lahug River, Mahinga Creek and at the local septic

treatment plant in Tinago. These areas are mostly seen as hotspots with regard to wastewater

related issues and were easily accessible with regards to distance and safety. This last aspect of

safety is the main reason why further field researches were hampered by the unavailability of

essential guidance through the different barangays. However, previous field researches in the

Philippines (Davao 2012, 2013, 2014) showed similarities to the results of the field researches of this

research with regards to improper wastewater disposal and the neglect of primary wastewater

treatment within the lower income areas.

DWATS

Within this research decentralized wastewater filter systems are the aimed solution to improve the

current state of wastewater management in Cebu City. This approach can be criticized directly

because of the direct delimitation of the possible solutions. However, the fact is that most alarming

situations are small scale and scattered location in which conventional sewerage isn’t feasible due to

low income. Therefore it’s necessary to focus on small scale and low cost solution to these

wastewater related issues that mostly come in the form of a DWATS. Furthermore, the selection of

the reviewed DWATS can be seen as an uncertainty with regard to the absence of technologies like

the vacuum toilet or public toilets as is used in the Sanimas projects. However, the selection of

possible wastewater treatment facilities is based on the fact that these systems are already

recognized in the Philippines in which the technology and materials is already available for the

implementation of these facilities. The in paragraph 4.1 described wastewater filter systems were

presented representatives of the MCWD and the DOST VII and discussed on their applicability. Within

this process the privilege was given to present the applicable DWATS to Honorable Sir Michael L.

Rama, Mayor of Cebu City, in which his interest was focused on the implantation of secondary

wastewater treatment in the form of vertical helophyte filter systems. Due to his great knowledge on

the context of Cebu City as city mayor, this aspect of secondary wastewater filter got pushed through

in the recommendation of this research.

PPP

Within the concept of involving the private sector in the wastewater management of Cebu City the

critics can be at highest due to the fact that socialist people would rather leave it in the hands of the

government. However, private participation can lead to a more efficient and sustainable wastewater

service in which the private investment can make these projects more feasible compared with the


43

current situation in which the local government is incapable to improve the current wastewater

management in a sufficient time scale.

Willingness to pay

The willingness to pay is analyzed by conducting an interview in which 30 households and a barangay

official of Lorega were questioned on their income, wastewater treatment and willingness to pay for

an improved sewage system. The results showed that not all interviewed households are performing

proper sewage treatment and the willingness to pay lays far lower than the actual ability to pay.

However, these results are based on a small of households which are specifically chosen within the

survey as they were suspicious on improper wastewater collection and treatment according to

national standards. Furthermore a selection is made of households which are located in the average

lower class and middle class areas to create a view on the willingness to pay in these income classes.

The scale in which these households are interviewed is small and therefore can be criticized on its

reliability. However, these houses were interviewed in such a way that the interviewees were able to

illustrate their wastewater management compared with the surrounding houses which gives a clear

view on the current situation from the perception of the citizens. Although these results give a raw

description on the current state of wastewater management, these results can’t be used as

fundamental decision tools for other projects due to the specific locations of the interviewees and

the small scale of interviews that are conducted.

Feasibility study: Lorega

Within Barangay Lorega the current state of wastewater management is alarming in such a way that

improved wastewater management is needed in the shortest time period possible. Therefore Lorega

is was initiated as target area for a pilot project by Sir Lasaro P. Salvacion, representative of the

MCWD, in which a decentralized wastewater filter system will be implemented for both primary and

secondary wastewater treatment. This recommendation can be criticized on its applicability in

multiple ways in which Lorega has a limited applicability to pay for such a structure and the rate of

return will be long lasting whenever small connection fees are given and no governmental grants are

given. The costs are established on recent related projects in which the quotations of these projects

are used as base for the quotation of this report including the inflation rate of 3.6%. These assumed

costs within this research can be criticized based but have been a successfully quoted within earlier

projects in Davao City and Barangay Sambag Uno. Furthermore, the safety within Lorega with regard

to criminality lays high and therefore the process of assessing the actual willingness to pay was

hampered due to the fact that a limited amount of person were interviewed.

Recommendations

The recommendations of this report are based on the results within the conducted research.

Therefore the system can only be criticized on its assumed input in which the critics aim on the

concepts that are described above. However, the implementation of both primary and secondary

wastewater treatment can be seen as overkill for the improvement of the wastewater management

in Cebu City. Although these critics are supported by the local government in which secondary

treatment of wastewater isn’t obliged as well as the primary treatment of grey wastewater, the goal

is to introduce Dutch standards in which these lacking processes are obliged in the Dutch national

standards on wastewater collection and treatment. The benefits of applying these processes within

the wastewater treatment can be obtained within a reduction in environmental pollution and public

health risks which can be beneficial for the GDP whenever this project is implemented on higher

scale.


44

Appendix I: Water System

Lahug River: Catchment area – ARC GIS –GEOPLAN/ DOST VII


45

3m ordinance: demolishing plan Mahinga Creek – ARC GIS –GEOPLAN/ DOST

VII


46

Appendix VI: STP at Tinago

Floor Plan

Solid waste filter


47

Appendix II: DWATS

Source: Joint Venture of AMCON INC.& EX Research Institute Ltd. Report: Pilot Project on Applicability of Dewatering Equipment for Septage Management of

Cebu City in the Philippines (2013)


48

Appendix III: PPP TOOL University of Colorado

Solana, Erick F. Oechler

Generally speaking, most non- governmental organizations (NGOs) are risk taker compared with

private companies due to the way they are funded and positioned between the government and the

private sector. For this reason NGOs have more knowledge and reasonable incentives to partner with

both the government and the private sector. NGOs from UN or the World Bank that were working on

projects within the water & sanitation sector have mostly failed due to their way of funding.

Most of these projects only had a short term of three years and therefore failed whenever the

budget was stopped. Therefore, partnerships between NGOs, GOs and the private sector can be an

opportunity to tackle certain issues within privatization elements of the water & sanitation sector.

According to recent studies of the University of Colorado, the government, private companies, and

NGOs could partner to make water & sanitation projects more sustainable because within this

partnership both parties will be spending less resources and all monitoring the sustainability of the

project. In this case International Organizations will stop funding nonfunctional systems and rather

turn to long term commitment to a PPP due to the efficient distribution of resources and

responsibility (Solana, 2014).

To create such a constituted partnership a special purpose vehicle (SPV) has to be shaped by all the

stakeholders within the project and the project revenues have to come from either NGOs,

International Organizations, Banking Institution and stakeholders like the users and LGUs. The SPV

should receive a payment for service (PS1) which consists’ out of making the sanitation available (SA)

and delivering a specific service to an NGO (S). Within this concept the government is required to pay

for the provided service as: PS1= SA+S


49

The figure below shows how a not- for- profit PPP between NGOs, the government, and the private

sector can be constituted. The thin solid lines show how investments are regulated and the thick

solid lines represent the return payments. The dashed lines represent the services that are given by

the different parties.

Figure 14: Not- For- Profit- PPP

Through PPP projects the need of the public can better be met due to the expertise of the private

sector but an improved methodology to provide a solid foundation for applying private sectors into

governmental services. Therefore the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of Hong

Kong introduced a systematic framework for infrastructure development through PPPs that can also

be applied as a framework for water & sanitation (DCEE, 2012).

The framework is called ‘’public–private win–win solution’’ and integrates four different phases in

the infrastructure and service delivery process. The phases are:

1) Design of a workable concession

2) Competitive concessionaire selection

3) Financial regulation of the selected concessionaire during the concession period

4) Periodic concession rebidding to allow new entry for the concession.

The public–private win–win solution acts somewhat as guidelines or constraints within the public

procurement principles and the decisions made in each of the four phases. Within the framework the

requirements of public services, the monopolistic rights of the concessionaire, the realignment of

responsibility and rewards among multiple participants in PPPs and the risks within the partnership

are taken into account.


50

The framework also obligates the fact that there must always be a chance for rebidding on the

concessionaire. On this way an un-natural form of monopoly can be discouraged due to the

everlasting competition between the private companies to have the right to fore fill a certain public

service. The below on the right shows how the framework forms a cycle in which there will always be

a certain period where re-concession and rebidding is possible. Furthermore, the four different

phases consist’ out of multiple aspects that have to be conducted before the next phase starts.

Within the Concession Design there must be: free competition, a separation of monopolistic and

competitive sectors, projections of the market demands, risk allocation and government support,

partnership evaluation, a public sector comparator (PSC), an integrated project plan, technical

innovations, public affordability, performance based contracting and certainty.

Within the phase of selecting the best concessionaire the cheapest bidder must be chosen according

to its price, technical experience and the level guaranteeing sustainability.

Within the phase of the financial regulation the competition between the other bidders must be

obtained, the regulation must include either a rate of return, a price cap or an intermediate scheme

and there must be participation constraint and efficiency requirements.

The re-concession & rebidding must encounter that it will strengthen the competition and lead to

solid change in the operational conditions and service requirements. Furthermore it should give a

valuation of unamortized assets and it must be a biased rebidding in favoring of the incumbent

concessionaire.

concession Design

Selecting Best

Conces-sionaire

Financial Regulation

Re-concession

& Rebidding

Figure 15: Public Procurement Principles and Win- Win Solutions Framework


51

Appendix IV: Interviews

Interview description

Interview Interviewee Type (Quantitative/

Qualitative)

Method Approach

Wastewater management in Cebu City (general)

MCWD: Qualitative In-depth interview

CCRMC: Qualitative In-depth interview

City Mayor: Qualitative In-depth interview

DEPW: Qualitative In-depth interview

DENR: Qualitative In-depth interview

Wastewater management in Barangay Lorega

MCWD & Barangay Officials:

Qualitative Focus group

Inhabitants of Barangay Lorega

Quantitative Self-completion

questionnaire

Inhabitants of Barangay Lorega

Quantitative Structured

observation

Participation in a PPP to treat domestic wastewater

MCWD: Qualitative In-depth interview view

DOST VII: Quantitative Structured interview

City Mayor: Quantitative Structured interview

CCRMC:

Quantitative Structured interview

DENR: Qualitative In-depth interview

Willingness to pay for wastewater treatment

Inhabitants of Cebu City (50 pers.)

Quantitative Structured interview

Arbitrarily in different social scales


52

Interview copy: Ability & Willingness to pay

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY VII Regional Office No. VII Lahug S&T Complex, Sudlon, Cebu City

Survey: WASTEWATER & PPP PARTICIPATION

Interviewer: S. LIGTVOET Project: FEASIBILITY STUDY ON LOW COST STP IN CEBU CITY Date: …. …./…..…/……….. (DD/MMM/YYYY)

Interviewee: …………………………………………………………. ( First name, Last name)

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

1) Do you have a septic tank: ⃝ YES ⃝ NO

If NO: How and where do you discharge your sewage water?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

If YES: How much do you pay to de-sludge your septic tank

……………… (PHP) Per ………………. (Year(s)) = ……………PHP/Year

2) How many people are living in your house?

………… (Pers.) ………… (Children below 12 years old)

3) What is your average water consumption?

…………….. (PHP) or ……………………………. (m³)


53

4) Do you make use of public sanitary facilities? ⃝ YES ⃝ NO

If YES: What kind of facilities do you use?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5) Do you own and use a washing machine? ⃝ YES ⃝ NO

6) Do you perform any kind of business at home? ⃝ YES ⃝ NO

If YES: - Do you provide a CR for your customers? ⃝ YES ⃝ NO

- What kind of business do you perform?

⃝ Eatery or Food production

⃝ Barbershop/ Salon

⃝ Laundry shop

⃝ Retail

⃝ Other: ……………………………………………………………………………..

7) What is they total average income of your household?

…………………….. (PHP)

8) Are you willing to participate if there was a centralized ⃝ YES ⃝ NO

sewage system?

If YES: How much are you willing to pay yearly to contribute?

⃝ ≥500 PHP

⃝ ≥1000 PHP

⃝ ≥1500 PHP

⃝ ≥2000 PHP

⃝ Other: ……………………PHP

9) Would you rather participate if it was a public or privatized service?

⃝ Public

⃝ Privatized

Why? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..


54

Interview Results: Lowest Income


55

Interview Results: Middle Income


56

Interview Results: Lower Income


57

Appendix V: Lorega

Surface area of households


58

Target Area

Color Q houses Q pers. Q pers. Min. Q pers. Ave. Q pers. Max

red 47 2 to 3 94 117,5 141

orange 349 2 to 3 698 873 1047

yellow 22 2 to 5 44 66 110

green 2 3 to 8 6 10 16

blue 9 4 to 12 36 72 108

purple 2 (160) 200 400 400 400

Totals 590 Incl. 2 X 200 persons 1278 1538 1822


59

Sewerage costs

House con. m/ pcs. details Php/ pcs/ m total

G. Water pipe

5 63mm 207 1035 PHP

G. Water con.

1 63mm 70 70 PHP

B. Water pipe

5,75 110mm 430 2472,5 PHP

B. Water con.

2 T 110mm 90 180 PHP

Total/ household

3757,5 PHP

General sewerage system m/ pcs. details Php/ pcs/ m total

G. Water pipe

690 160mm 431 297.390 PHP

G. Water con.

582 crosses 160mm 90 52.380 PHP

G. Water con.

35 T w cap 160mm 130 4.550 PHP

B. Water pipe

690 160mm 431 297.390 PHP

B. Water con.

582 crosses 160mm 90 52.380 PHP

B. Water con.

35 T w cap 160mm 130 4.550 PHP

TOTAL COSTS

House con. 1.619.483 PHP

Q houses 431

General sew. Sys.

708.640 PHP +

Q pers. 1538

TOTAL 2.328.123 PHP

per capita 1.514


60

Total costs

Total project costs no filter

Filter system

Php

1.985.349

Sewage system

Php

1.084.765

Primary Filter System Php

2.749.415

Total cost of intervention in million Php

5.819.528

3.834.180

Maintenance costs per year Php

50.000 2.493

TOTAL PROJECT COSTS IN 20 YEARS Php 6.819.528

8.896

Cost per capita in Php 3.784 28.000

Cost per household in Php

13.502

19.104

Cost of septic tank in 20 years

Php 28.000

Benefits for citizens in 20 years Php

14.498

TOTAL BENEFITS (20 years)

Php

8.370.000


61

Estimated benefits

Rate of return = F9+(885000/(1+0,036)^D10) Y 2000 1500 1000 1450 Parameters

590 590 590 590 Q households

1 1.180.000

885.000

590.000

855.500

Yearly benefits in peso

2 2.360.000

1.770.000

1.180.000

1.711.000

3 3.421.213

2.565.910

1.710.607

2.480.380

4 4.445.551

3.334.163

2.222.775

3.223.024

5 5.434.293

4.075.720

2.717.147

3.939.863

6 6.388.678

4.791.509

3.194.339

4.631.792

7 7.309.899

5.482.424

3.654.949

5.299.677

8 8.199.108

6.149.331

4.099.554

5.944.353

9 9.057.418

6.793.064

4.528.709

6.566.628

10 9.885.903

7.414.427

4.942.951

7.167.279

11 10.685.598

8.014.199

5.342.799

7.747.059

12 11.457.505

8.593.129

5.728.753

8.306.691

13 12.202.589

9.151.942

6.101.295

8.846.877

14 12.921.782

9.691.337

6.460.891

9.368.292

15 13.615.984

10.211.988

6.807.992

9.871.588

16 14.286.063

10.714.547

7.143.031

10.357.395

17 14.932.857

11.199.643

7.466.428

10.826.321

18 15.557.176

11.667.882

7.778.588

11.278.952

19 16.159.800

12.119.850

8.079.900

11.715.855

20 16.741.484

12.556.113

8.370.742

12.137.576

16,7

12,6

8,4

12,1 M peso/ 20 years

thesis report - wamafst - 0799866 - s. ligtvoet - 2014-2015 - v.2 (1)

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