Water

Project site	Bulacan, Philippines
Cost	US$ 49,813
Status	Completed
Approval date	January 2008
Completion date	May 2009
Category	Basin Management
ADB officer	Mohammed Nasimul Islam
Partner	Blacksmith Institute

The Meycauayan River running through the province of Bulacan is on the verge of mercury and heavy metal toxicity. Artisanal gold and precious metal refiners that use toxic heavy metals lie on the upstream causing much of the pollution. They have no waste treatment facilities and the emissions, solid and liquid wastes from the refining process, find their way into the atmosphere, river system, and eventually to thousands of hectares of fishponds downstream and urban communities that depend highly on groundwater sources.

But while clean-up projects of the river system, including the tributaries in the nearby towns of Marilao and Obando, have begun, plans to address the waters’ high toxicity level have still to materialize. This PDA will demonstrate appropriate technologies for reducing mercury and heavy metal contamination in the Meycauayan river system.

• Baseline survey
• Assessment of gold and precious metals refinery
• Information, Education, and Communication Plan
• Mercury retort technology
• Scrubber
• Capacity building and organizing a Water Quality Management Board

• Proposal (January 2008) [ PDF ]

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