The Tullahan River is a river of the Philippines.

It is located to the north of Manila and has an

approximate length of 7.6 miles or 15 kilometers.

It starts at the La Mesa Reservoir in Quezon City and flows through Malabon and Valenzuela and
empties into the Manila Bay.

MANILA, Philippines – On the surface, Metro Manila creeks and rivers appear cleaner, but the water
itself is still filthy.

This was the update given by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) during
a presentation on the status of the Metro Manila Adopt-an-Estero or Waterbody Program on
Wednesday, September 24.

"Little by little, the trash being thrown into our waterways is lessening. However, based on the
results of our BOD (biological oxygen demand) monitoring, we are still unable to meet the 7
milligrams per liter standard," said Diosdado Doctor, chief of Environmental Monitoring at the
DENR's Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) National Capital Region.

BOD is the amount of dissolved oxygen that anaerobic organisms in a body of water need in order to
break down organic material in the water. It is an indicator of water quality: the lower the BOD, the
cleaner the body of water, Doctor explained.

But as of May 2014, the BOD across all 27 waterways in Metro Manila covered by the program
ranged from 81 mg per liter to 240 mg per liter – still way beyond the 7 mg per liter standard.

Doctor described the BOD levels from 2011 to 2014 as "erratic."

For the same river, for example, the average BOD in 2011 was 32 mg per liter. Come 2013, the figure
was at 128 mg per liter.

The fluctuating, almost logic-defying movement of the water quality levels is due to the just as
erratic rains in the mega city, said Doctor.

"When the dry season is long then it suddenly rains, there is a flushing effect which causes all the
waste to flow to the river system. This increases [the BOD].When continuous rain occurs, the BOD
suddenly goes down because of dilution," he explained.

That's why typically, BOD lowers during the rainy season then hikes up again in the summer.

A flood of problems

The main reason for the still alarmingly low water quality of Metro Manila rivers and creeks is the
untreated residential waste that flows directly into the waterways, Doctor told reporters. (READ: 55
die daily in PH from lack of proper sewerage)

Only 20 to 30% of Metro Manila residents are connected to sewerage lines of water
concessionnaires Manila Water and Maynilad Water Services.

This means that the other 70% depend on septic tanks, which may leak human waste into
underground aquifers. Worse, some may not even have septic tanks and get rid of their waste
through informal, unregulated means.
Informal settlers who live right beside or above waterways pose another problem. Lack of awareness
and discipline means that many of them throw their trash or defecate directly into the water.

The way forward, at least for the legal residents, is to compel water concessionaires to achieve 100%
connection of households to sewerage lines, something they are required to do by law anyway, said
Doctor.

The DENR has enforced a deadline for concessionaires to achieve 100% coverage of Metro Manila by
2035.

Solving the informal settler problem is trickier.

Even if, by law, no structures are allowed in the 3-meter easement beside waterways, local
government units hesitate to force informal settlers to leave out of fear of appearing "anti-poor" and
losing votes in the next elections, said Doctor.

Best practices

Despite the drawbacks, there were also some achievements under the Adopt-an-Estero or
Waterway project.

Begun in 2010 after Tropical Storm Ondoy, the DENR project invites companies, NGOs, and schools
to team up with local governments to clean a specific creek or river.

Even if a lot of rain fell last week, the floods subsided quickly, based on news reports. This is one of
the benefits of our activities.

- Jonas Leones, DENR-EMB OIC-Director

Out of the more than 240 waterways in the mega city, only 27 or 11% are covered by the program.

Making creeks or rivers more visually attractive is a bigger achievement than it sounds, said DENR
Senior Environmental Management Specialist Marivic Quides. (READ: Taytay creek is water rehab
model for Southeast Asia)

"Visual impact is big. When a creek looks cleaner, it means at least there is less solid garbage," she
told reporters in a mix of English and Filipino.

DENR-EMB Director Jonas Leones said the benefits of less garbage-clogged waterways were evident
in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Mario which hit Metro Manila last September 19.

"Even if a lot of rain fell last week, the floods subsided quickly, based on news reports. This is one of
the benefits of our activities," he said.

There were also plenty of best practices and model waterway "adoptions" that spell hope for the
project.

For instance, the local government and private partners who jointly adopted Concepcion Creek in
Marikina City have gone beyond the required monthly clean-up by making their clean-ups once a
week.

The Marikina City government is also strict with both illegal and formal settlers living within the 3
meter easement along the creek. After the 3rd warning, a team goes to the houses and begins
demolition.
A local paint company that partnered with local governments in Valenzuela City to clean up Lingunan
Creek has gone beyond scooping out trash from the waterway.

QUEZON CITY, Feb. 8 (PIA) -- Communities near the Tullahan River pledged to protect and conserve
the river that is part of the Malabon-Navotas-Tullahan-Tinajeros (MANATUTI) river system.

The commitment came after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reached
out to communities to raise awareness of the value of preserving wetlands and their importance to
ecosystems.

The DENR, through its Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), took the 2018 World Wetland Day
local celebration on Feb 2, to two Quezon City barangays – Sta. Lucia and San Bartolome – where the
agency conducted an educational outreach activity consistent with the theme, “Wetlands for
Sustainable Urban Future – Making Urban Cities Livable.”

DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu said the focus of this year’s celebration enhances the knowledge of
communities about the conservation and preservation of wetlands and bodies of water situated in
urban areas, and the Tullahan River is a fitting venue for the WWD event.

“We at the DENR are reached out to the two barangays near the Tullahan River because of its
relevance on their livelihood,” Cimatu said. “As one of the most polluted waterways in Metro
Manila, the river deserves no less than to have reduced pollution for the benefit of the residents
within the area.”

A wetland is defined as land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, and
such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. It also constitutes rivers and its
tributaries, especially in urban areas such as Quezon City.

The holding of educational outreach activity was proposed to the DENR by the Quezon City
Environmental Protection and Waste Management Division and was coordinated by the BMB
together with the DENR- National Capital Regional Office.

Representatives from the Society for Conservation of Philippine Wetlands discussed the seven
environmental principles, the BMB the importance of urban wetlands, and the Mother Earth
Foundation on zero-waste management during the learning activities held at the barangay halls of
Sta. Lucia and San Bartolome.

Video presentations and group activities aimed at raising awareness on the importance of wetlands
were also conducted.

Participants from Barangay Sta. Lucia in Quezon City actively participated in an activity aimed at
enhancing their understanding of the various environmental principles. They were tasked to draw
what they want to put in the “land” near the Tullahan River.

Afterwards, they laid all their drawings and connected them, forming a miniature version of the
Tullahan River. At the end of the day-long event, the participants declared their commitment to
protecting and conserving Tullahan River.

The Tullahan River spans 36.4 kilometers, from La Mesa Water Reservoir in Fairview, Quezon City, all
the way to the mouth of Manila Bay at Centennial Park in Navotas City.

Established to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for humanity and the planet, WWD was
first celebrated in 1997 and has grown remarkably since then. In 2016, WWD was celebrated in at
least 59 countries. (DENR/EPC/MAPA/PIA-NCR)
Tullahan, San Juan River informal settlers, first to go

Some 3,000 informal settlers along Quezon City waterways and danger zones have until the end of
July to leave or face eviction, said Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte.

“We are very serious in removing the informal settlers along waterways and extremely dangerous
areas,” the vice mayor said.

Housing Community Development and Resettlement department chief Ramon Asprer said first to be
cleared would be the San Juan River, with 2,800 settlers, and the Tullahan River, with 1,620 families.

Belmonte noted that Quezon City has 13,181 informal settler families along waterways and danger
zones—the most number in Metro Manila.

“It will be the responsibility of the barangay (village) captains and the local government to ensure
that these families will not come back to their old dwellings,” she said.—Julie M. Aurelio

MANILA, Philippines – City officials of Malabon are planning to build “trash traps” at the Tullahan
River in an attempt to address the flooding situation in the city.

Five barangays in Malabon are still submerged in floods caused by monsoon rains.

But more than flood waters, the city is also dealing with a massive garbage problem.

The Tullahan River has been clogged with tons of trash.

Some have already clumped together into a solid mass that can be stepped on.

The 37 trucks of garbage collected from Malabon in a day have now ballooned to more than 160
trucks.

“Hindi ordinaryong basura, may kahoy, puno, at kama. ‘Yung level ng basura dito mahigit 1 meter na
so definitely na-stuck na sa river,” said environmental officer Mark Mesina.

The water from the Tullahan River flows out into the Manila Bay.

But during high tide, the water flows back, trapping the garbage in Malabon.

The trash does not only come from Malabon but also Valenzuela, Caloocan and Quezon City.

Malabon needs six trash traps but the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has only
released P15 million for two.

“Mabuti kung anim but we are starting off with dalawa muna kasi magastos masyado,” said acting
Malabon Mayor Antolin Oreta III.

The trash trap, patterned after a model in Australia, will gather garbage from the river into a
containment area.

The trap is 30 meters wide and 3 meters high and made of galvanized steel.

The 5 mayors of CAMANAVA and Quezon City have also formed a river commission to find a solution
to the trash problem.

They will meet Wednesday with the Department of Public Works and Highways and the
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to discuss the building of trash traps. -- ANC