BAGUIO CITY – SM City Baguio recently
launched the first of its kind in a mall-setting facility that will convert
rainwater to potable water and help contribute to the city’s water conservation
and recycling efforts.
“The mall’s Rainwater Filtration facility
will supply the mall with enough potable water that can be redistributed to
mall tenants for various uses including washing, cleaning and safe for
drinking, to help reduce sourcing from the communities’ water table, leaving
more water supply for the Baguio community to use,” SM Supermalls Senior Vice President
Bien C. Mateo disclosed.
 |
|
(From lef to right) Leading the ceremonial untying of ribbon
to officially launch the Rainwater Facility Project were (L-R (Marc Janssen T.
Pe, Senior Asst. Vice President-Mall
Operations; Cecil Dionisio, DOST-Science Research; Engr. Kim Oliver Domondon -
DOH; Atty. VJ Cawis, Representative from the City Mayor's Office; OIC-RD Engr.
Jean Borromeo, EMB, CAR; Engr. Liza Silerio, SM Supermalls Vice President for
Corporate Compliance and SM Cares Program Director for the Environment; Mr.
Bien Mateo, SVP for Operations, SM Supermalls; Rona Vida B Correa, Regional
Operations Manager-North 1.
|
While SM has been recycling water for
decades since the 1990’s, the water-saving innovation
is part of SM Prime’s sustainability program towards responsible consumption
and carbon footprint reduction, according to Mr. Mateo. “We invest in water conservation
technology to eliminate water wastage and adopt stricter measures to reduce
consumption. More innovations are being done to recycle more water and filter more
rainwater across the properties and estates of SM Prime.”
In
2022, the real estate developer has recycled a total of 3.58 million cubic
meters of water across its properties in the Philippines. As of June 2023, SM
Prime has already installed water catchment basins in 25 malls to help prevent
flooding as well as soil erosion during sudden high volumes of rainfall.
 |
|
Baguio City Mayor
Benjamin Magalong (2nd from right) with Atty. Renan Diwas, Baguio City
Environment and Parks Management Office Head; Mr. Bien Mateo, SM SVP for
Operations, and Marc Janssen T. Pe, SM’s SAVP for Mall Operations.
|
The rainwater catchment system
installed in SM City Baguio can draw and store a total of 51 million liters of
rainwater in a year, based on 2022 PAGASA rainfall volume for Baguio City. This
is equivalent to 20 Olympic-size swimming pools, 13.4M gallons of
drinking water, 373,510 full baths and 672,318 10-minute showers.
How
does it work?
Watch this video: https://fb.watch/lEmoyVS1KV/?mibextid=5eVWNK
During rain fall, rainwater is
collected in the tank and treated for reuse within the mall. To make rainwater
safe for use, the harvested water goes through a 6-step treatment processes –
Multimedia Filtration, Water Softener, Activated Carbon, Ultra Filtration,
Reverse Osmosis and Ozonization - the treated rainwater from the tank will be
re-distributed as supply for the mall tenants for various uses including
washing, cleaning and safe for drinking.
 |
| Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong (2nd from
right) with (left to right) Atty. Renan
Diwas, Baguio City Environment and Parks Management Office Head; Mr. Bien
Mateo, SM SVP for Operations, and Marc Janssen T. Pe, SM’s SAVP for Mall
Operations, drinking water from the treated rainwater tank. |
Working towards a better tomorrow for
its communities, officials from the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources of Cordillera Administrative Region (DENR-CAR) have acknowledged the
efforts of the mall in providing a long-term solution amidst the growing
concern on water security.
“We are
grateful for your attention to the predicament on water scarcity in Baguio
City,” DENR Regional Director of CAR Engineer Jean Borromeo in a message to SM
Prime. “Water scarcity is one of the biggest issues that Baguio is facing today
because deep wells have already dried up the city’s water table. It is good to
see how SM Prime is taking its responsibility to the environment seriously,
practically addressing the biggest environmental threat to Baguio City.”
 |
| Baguio City Mayor
Benjamin Magalong with Engr. Liza Silerio, SM Supermalls Vice President for
Corporate Compliance and SM Cares Program Director for the Environment and
Engr. Merlin Andrew Te, Owner-Manager of Purnspect the treated rainwater from
the tank. This water will be distributed to tenants for various purposes,
including washing, cleaning, and safe drinking, as part of the water and
recycling efforts. |
“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 take into consideration the importance of water security as one of its
priorities,” RD Borromeo added.
The Rainwater Filtration facility is
one of SM Prime Holding’s initiatives to its commitment towards sustainable
development in the communities it serves.
SM Prime is committed to supporting
the United Nations in achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),
including SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and
Infrastructure, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 12: Responsible
Consumption and Production and SDG 13: Climate Action which aims to ensure the
availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
