Antipolo City Mayor Jun Ynares said the construction of the Hinulugang Taktak Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is nearly complete after three years since the city government announced its partnership with Manila Water to help rehabilitate the national park.
The STP is estimated to be completed and operational by the end of 2024.
Hinulugang Taktak is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Antipolo City, designated as a national park in 1990 and a protected landscape in 2000. Its most prominent feature is its 21-meter waterfalls which is said to be the nearest natural waterfalls that is accessible to residents in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Ynares said that in the past, the waters at the Hinulugang Taktak were still clean enough to swim in. However as the population of the city increased, the waters had become more polluted.
To address this issue, the Antipolo City government, under former Mayor Andrea Ynares, signed an agreement with Manila Water in 2020 for the construction of the STP in order to sanitize the waterways of the city and the park.
According to Manila Water, the STP can treat around 16 million liters of wastewater per day, passing through six kilometers of connected sewer network lines. It will "help ensure that wastewater from the community is cleaned before discharge to the Hinulugang Taktak Falls," it added.
The project overall costs around P2.5 billion. Once fully completed, the Hinulugang Taktak STP will be the fifth and largest wastewater treatment facility built by Manila Water in Rizal province.
"Tinatayang 148,000 ng ating populasyon ang makikinabang din sa napakalaking proyekto, bukod pa sa mismong talon (An estimated 148,000 of the population will benefit from this big project, aside from the falls itself)," said Ynares.
These beneficiary communities include Barangay Dela Paz, San Isidro, San Roque, and San Jose.
Aside from the sewage treatment plant, Ynares said the city government is also beautifying the area surrounding Hinulugang Taktak, and adding more recreational activities for visitors to enjoy at the park such as installing a canopy walk, a spider web path, a wall climbing obstacle, and a swimming pool.
Ynares said many people thought cleaning and rehabilitating the waters and the falls was an impossible feat. He urged citizens to cooperate with the city government and Manila Water in their continued efforts to rehabilitate Hinulugang Taktak and the whole of Antipolo City.