As one of the staunchest advocates of rebuilding a better and more sustainable island paradise, Boracay Island Water Company, Inc. (Boracay Water) recently completed the sewage diversion flow system from its Balabag Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) to the Manocmanoc STP, allowing more establishments and households in the Balabag area to connect to the company’s sewer network. 

The flow diversion project started in March 2018 and was recently commissioned to support the sewer network and treatment facility in barangay Balabag which receives an average of 5.7 million liters of used water or wastewater per day (MLD) during regular operations, or 88 percent of its 6.5 MLD maximum capacity. 

Barangay Balabag is the site of the busy beach fronts of Stations 1 and 2, as well as the Bulabog Beach where many water sports activities such as kiteboarding are held. It accumulates more used water compared to Manocmanoc and Yapak, the two other barangays in the island. 

With the completed diversion system, some of the used water for treatment in the Balabag facility will be transmitted to Manocmanoc STP which has a treatment capacity of 5 MLD. Currently, the Manocmanoc STP treats about 1 to 2 MLD of used water from households and business establishments located within the barangay. 

The flow diversion project maximizes the combined capacity of both treatment plants and will enable the company’s sewerage system to accommodate even non-Boracay Water customers who are yet to connect to a reliable and proper used water network. 

In total, Balabag and Manocmanoc STPs treat an average of 8.7 MLD, or 76 percent of its combined 11.5 MLD capacity.  Both facilities discharge Class SB water or treated domestic used water compliant with the stringent parameters of the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources that is safe for marine life and suitable for recreational and contact activities. 

In support of the rehabilitation of the Island, Boracay Water is also accelerating its sewer system projects in accordance with the used water masterplan approved by Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority including the construction of the island’s third sewage treatment plant in Barangay Yapak with a capacity of 5 MLD.

The company is also expanding its current sewer network of 22 kilometers while providing desludging services to unsewered areas with a fleet of 7 desludging trucks. This ensures that septage or wastes collected from septic tanks of residential and commercial establishments undergo proper treatment.