Earth Hour 2017

This is the 10th Year for Earth Hour and we feel delighted that Unsullied Perspective has been part of this movement since 2010. So what is Earth Hour?

"Earth Hour is a worldwide grassroots movement by WWF to unite people to take action for the planet. Engaging a massive mainstream community on a broad range of environmental issues, Earth Hour was famously started as a lights out event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then it has grown to engage hundreds of millions of supporters, individuals and organizations alike, in more than 7000 cities and towns in over 175 countries and territories worldwide." 

Earth Hour 2017 will take place on Saturday 25 March, 8:30 p.m. local time. 

  

Let us join again in observing Earth Hour, let us all lend our voices. Together, we can make a difference to protect the earth for the future generation.  

To join this movement, please click here >> earthhour.org


We feel great receiving an email from WWF acknowledging our efforts for our participation in Earth Hour.  We wish to share them to encourage everyone to be part of this movement.

Here is the message:

It only means that...even in our small way, through collected efforts, we can do big changes. 

Maynilad Wastewater Management Service: A Pro-Environment Initiative

Sharing my own learning:

My kids and I attended the Daloy Dunong Program of Maynilad thru the invitation of Nuffnang Philippines last February 4, 2017. Since the seminar has something to do with health and environment which is part of the advocacy of this blog and also because of a great parent-child bonding opportunity, I grabbed the chance to be present with my kids.

It was such an enriching experience that even my kids appreciated what they learn especially the plant tour at Veterans Village Water Reclamation Facility.  

From that Daloy Dunong Educational Tour, we learned of the following:

1. Maynilad's commendable effort in ensuring that wastewater from our household will be treated and processed before it will be discharged to river, lake and sea to avoid polluting our bodies of water
2. How wastewater is treated in the facility like the one we visited in Quezon City. A presentation on wastewater management was provided to us then we toured the plant where we witnessed the entire process 
3. We found out that water treatment is such a complicated process.  We saw how sewage/filtrate/ septage turned to effluent and bio-solid using specialized machines at different stages.  Those terms! Thank goodness they have those samples for us to understand. 😊
4. That some of Maynilad's customers are already connected to a sewerage system directly connected to a treatment facility while those who are not connected to sewer lines are provided with sanitation services at no extra cost to its customer.  
5. That Maynilad has expansion programs and accelerating its wastewater management to cover 100% of its West Zone service by 2037.  That is good news for mother earth and also for our future generations as it only means that they would need more people to man these plants so better keep that in mind and think of possible career opportunities for the kids
6. That it partners with other private and government entities to build more treatment plants and they encountered challenges acquiring lands where they will put up the plant
7. That they conduct seminar and tours to inform its stakeholders on the importance of wastewater management like this Daloy Dunong Tour.

Here are more detailed information:

Where does our tap water come from?

"Water, water everywhere,  Nor any drop to drink" are famous lines from the poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by an English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge published in 1798.  Those lines greatly imply the importance of having clean and safe water to drink.  Is it not a big relief that we are living in this millennium with clean potable water available right inside our household? Well, YES! Especially those areas serviced by Maynilad Water Services Inc. that composed parts of Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Paranaque, Las Pinas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Malabon and Navotas or the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area as well as parts of Cavite Province covering Cavite City, Bacoor, Imus, towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario.  Maynilad sources its water supply from reserves in Angat and Ipo dams collected during rainy days. That same water is treated at the La Mesa Treatment Plant then goes to pumping stations for distribution directly to every household of Maynilad customers.   

An illustration on how Maynilad delivers potable water to every household

The water quality supplied by Maynilad is consistently monitored to ensure that it is safe for consumption as we use it in our daily routines such as cooking, washing, bathing and just about anything where we need that precious colorless liquid.  I was surprised when I learned from a close friend who is also a Maynilad customer that they use their tap water for drinking.  It only means that the water quality of Maynilad is safe.  

Illustration provided by Maynilad

Where does our wastewater go?

Maynilad customers consume about 35 gallons of water per person per day according to a study by the University of the Philippines.  About 80% of water we used or roughly 28 gallons turn into wastewater or  go down the drain that will later on reach our surrounding bodies of water. 

That wastewater if not properly treated prior to disposing to creeks,  lakes and rivers can pose health and environmental risks. The possible health risks if exposed to contaminated water include Diarrhea, Leptospirosis,  Hepatitis A and many others.  On the other hand, its impact on the environment can manifest through  sudden destruction of large quantities of fish or fish kill and possible "euthropication" where excessive nutrients in our waterways can cause dense growth of plant life and and death of animal life.

    

The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004


Maynilad ensures compliance to the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 where part of its provision states:

• "To promote environmental strategies, use of appropriate economic instruments and of control mechanisms for the protection of water resources;" 
• "To formulate a holistic national program of water quality management that recognizes that water quality management issues cannot be separated from concerns about water sources and ecological protection, water supply, public health and quality of life;"

Thus, Maynilad provides not only safe potable water but also sustainable water solution that includes Wastewater Management Service.  Maynilad's Wasterwater Management Service covers "sewerage" and "sanitation". 

For its sewerage service, Maynilad provides sewer service connection, maintenance/repair of sewer network, operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment facilities and also plan for sewer coverage expansion.  On the other hand, its sanitation service includes septic tank desludging or regular cleaning of septic tank, operation and maintenance of septage treatment plant, fleet maintenance and planning for sanitation coverage expansion.  Both for its sewerage and sanitation services, Maynilad ensures to attend to customer complaints. 

The septic tank cleaning or desludging services are offered by Maynilad at no extra cost but there are certain conditions that must be met such as:

1. The wastewater is of domestic quality (only residential and semi-business customers)
2. Not been served in the last 5-7 years
3. With updated Maynilad account
4. Septic tank is accessible (ensure that you know where your septic tank is, you can check your house' as-built plan or consult with experts or plumber)

To request for septic tank cleaning service, you can call the Maynilad hotline at 1626 or through their Facebook and Twitter accounts. 

What are the benefits from wastewater management?

1. It protects the environment as waste water is treated before discharging to bodies of water to avoid water pollution.
2. Sanitation and healthful conditions are sustained
3. The whole family is safe from contaminated water 

What can we do to help in wastewater management?

1. Exercise proper solid waste management practices such as waste segregation and recycling, remember to reduce, reuse and recycle. 
2. Be mindful when you use the toilet. Never flush non-fibrous matter in the toilet bowl such as diaper, wipes, napkins and the like as these could cause trouble in the toilet and sewer pipelines.

3. Educate the people around you on how they can help in wastewater management and it starts by sharing this post with everyone you know. You can share by clicking any of the sharing buttons below. 

Here is a video on how our wastewater is treated by Maynilad:

Unsullied Perspective 2016 Year in Review

Looked like the year 2016 ended without too much activities in this blog with only four posts listed. But it did not mean that we hibernated for a year long. It was only like that because we needed to re-prioritize and re-arrange our plans.  We moved some of our articles on travel and fun activities in our new website at Mosey Butterfly.  We had to spend much time in the layout, design and concept of our website to provide our readers helpful information and travel tips. The main post contributor also had to dedicate some moments to complete the book which was at the proofreading stage that year.  We wished to publish it in 2016 but there were some challenges happened that prevented us to release the book. You can check out the preview of the book <<here>> and reserve your copy <<here>>.  We decided that as part of Unsullied Perspective's advocacy, part of the earnings from the book will be donated to our favorite charity institution.

Anyways, 2016 was a great year also as we were able to accomplish major personal plans such as house renovation and move-in. We will share with you our exciting experiences about that, too!  We did not miss on our yearly target of going to at least one new place for new adventures like what we had in the beautiful islands of Coron Palawan. Articles on our memorable experiences were posted at Mosey Butterfly.

From the four articles that we had here, we were able to share to you, our dear readers those flashback memories from 2015.  Then we provided you the 2016 financial calendar planner to help you in tracking your finances. As it was the election year, we also posted related articles on that. Literally "change had come"  in every aspect of politics and I guess even in the way that freedom of expression was exercised as it garnered a big influence on the outcome of the election.  Lucky for us that we live in a democratic country where we were given the right to express ourselves.  We also continued our helpline for SSS inquiries though we emphasized that what we were sharing were based on personal account and understanding of the SSS regulations. Our readers have all the freedom to ask directly from SSS about their concerns.

There goes our 2016 and we do hope that our 2017 will be more productive and exciting year. And I think it is not yet too late to have our new year's wish..

1. For Unsullied Perspective to reach more readers and may they find helpful articles in our blog.
2. To publish a best-selling book so we can donate more to charities.
3. To be able to take part in more campaigns and blogger events to inspire us to write meaningful articles.