Baguio’s biggest mall purifies rainwater for potable use

Baguio City, Philippines – The City of Baguio, along with eastern Samar and eastern Surigao, receives the greatest amount of rainfall, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration of the Department of Science and Technology.

Ironically, the city had been facing water shortage, especially during the dry season.

To help address water scarcity, SM City Baguio built water catchments. In a year, a total of 51 million liters of rainwater are collected at the catchment basin of SM City Baguio. This is equivalent to 20 Olympic-size swimming pools or 13.4 gallons of drinking water.

To take advantage of the large volumes of rainwater and at the same time help in the city’s water conservation and recycling efforts, the biggest mall in town launched on Tuesday, July 04, its first rainwater filtration facility.

It has a capacity of 6,390 cubic meters, equivalent to two and a half Olympic-size pools.

The state-of-the-art facility serves as a holding tank that lessens the load of water passing through the drainages, aiding in flood prevention. Likewise, it avoids soil erosion by reducing water runoff.

The collected water can be used to sustain the green roof, other vegetation around the mall, and fire protection.

The surrounding community, said the mall, may benefit by using the excess filtered water for the following: cleaning, irrigation, and fire protection.

For the harvested rainwater to be converted to potable water, it will pass through a six-step treatment process which include Multimedia Filtration, Water Softener, Activated Carbon, Ultra Filtration, Reverse Osmosis, and finally Ozonization.

The treated rainwater will then be distributed as a supply for the mall tenants for various uses including washing, cleaning, and safe for drinking.

“This will greatly help reduce sourcing from the city’s water table and more water supply for the community to use. Not only does SM considers what’s best for its shopping customers, but also takes into consideration the importance of water security as one of its priorities,” said Regional Director, Engr. Jean C. Borromeo of Environmental Management Bureau – Cordillera.

City Mayor Benjamin Magalong also extended his support for the initiative.

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