Manila Water Non-East Zone subsidiary Boracay Water has launched Project Monsoon, a program which aims to intensify efforts in strengthening sanitation and sustainability in the island of Boracay.

Through Project Monsoon, Boracay Water will be providing free sewer connections for all its residential customers living within 60-100 meters from the nearest available sewer network.

For the implementation of the Phase 1 of the said project, 65 families from Barangay Manocmanoc and Balabag were given the free service, in collaboration with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority-Regulatory Office (TIEZA-RO) and Local Government of Malay. The inauguration of the project was attended by Malay Municipal Mayor Frolibar Bautista, Sangguniang Bayan Member Maria Victoria Salem, Boracay Water General Manager Bryan Magallanes, and representatives from TIEZA Regulatory Office, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Boracay Foundation, Inc., respective barangay councils of Manocmanoc and Balabag, and the beneficiaries.

Project Monsoon was conceptualized by Boracay Water to solve several sanitation issues in Boracay Island, in accordance with Republic Act 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004. During summer, the growth of algae in the coastline of Boracay is usually noted, with one of the roots identified is the discharge of untreated wastewater due to absence or substandard septic tanks.

With the residents’ septic tanks directly connected to Boracay Water’s sewer network, wastewater from these households is guaranteed to be properly collected and treated in the Company’s sewage treatment plants before being discharged to the water bodies in Boracay, following the Class SB effluent standards set by DENR.

Aside from this, Project Monsoon also intends to address the illegal pilferage of rainwater downspout of its residential and commercial customers to the sewer network which results to manhole overflowing during the rainy season, through the inclusion of penalties in Malay LGU’s Municipal Order 307.

Boracay Water is set to spend P108-M for the provision of free sewer connection to 1,860 households in its service area. Boracay Water also encourages establishments to connect to the available sewer network of the Company to ensure sustainability and protection of the island’s pristine beaches.

Currently, Boracay Water has two (2) centralized sewage treatment facilities in Boracay Island that can treat 11.5 million liters of wastewater per day.