Rep. Cyrille Abueg-Zaldivar of the 2nd Palawan District has filed a bill in the House of Representatives to compel the installation of greywater treatment systems in all buildings throughout the country to improve the quality of the wastewater that they generate before they are discharged.
Abueg-Zaldivar presented House Bill No. 8611, which seeks to save money on water while also helping to conserve, protect, and preserve the environment.
Buildings with a floor area of more than 30,000 square meters, or those with a potential non-potable water demand of less than 100 cubic meters per day, she said, must install greywater treatment systems with a capacity sufficient to treat all wastewaters produced in the structure once the bill is passed into law.
“Greywater refers to wastewater which, though not potable, is not pathologically infectious and is not infected with fecal matter, which can be used for watering plants, laundry, flushing toilets, cleaning, and other uses not related to human consumption,” she said.
However, its use should undergo water treatment to remove pathogens from greywater and make it suitable for re-use in toilets, urinals, or subterranean irrigation systems.
The measure is now pending before the House Committee on Ecology after it has been read on the first reading.
This House measure supports Republic Act No. 9275, otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004. As such, any undertaking, development, and/or adoption of water recycling and reuse projects, technologies, processes, techniques, or activities by private entities and individuals shall receive tax incentives and rewards as provided by the said law, she said.
