ENVIRONMENT
The City’s main attraction is still its natural bounties of cool climate, panoramic vistas, its pine forests and generally clean environs. Today, it still boasts of 5 forest reserves with a total area of 434.77 hectares. Three of these areas are watersheds that serve as sources of the City’s water supply.
Of the City’s total land area, only 467.5 hectares (8.1 percent) still have old growths of pine while 1,137.5 hectares (19.8 percent) have production pine stands and 122.5 hectares (2.1 hectares) are brush lands. The remaining area of 4,021.1905 hectares making up 70.0 percent of the total comprises the developed portion.
There are five major creeks/waterways that serve as a natural drains leading to the lowlands. These continue to serve as sources for irrigation of cultural lands along its banks. There are also nine major springs that continue to supply water in various areas of the city, mostly those that have not been reached by or cannot be served by the water system. The overall water consumption expanded by 3.05 percent over the previous year, contributing to thee increase is the presence of metered deep wells (private wells) wherein volume of production is being paid to Baguio Water District. Continuing efforts to conserve the environment through public and private sector partnerships are being embarked upon. The City has initiated and persistently implemented its solid and liquid waste management program. The Baguio Sewage Treatment Plant, the only one of its kind in the country, now operates at percent of its rated capacity. The city is currently implementing a citywide installation of secondary bilateral inlet pipes to enable majority of the city to gain access to the services of the treatment plant.
Solid Waste Management now covers 98percent of the total 128 barangays. Most of the City’s total households or 99 percent are served regularly. The average solid waste density per kilograms per cubic meter is 300. The volume of waste collected decreased by 0.31 percent. This is attributed to the proliferation of ambulant scavengers who roam around the City pulling out recyclable materials from piles of solid wastes before the regular collection. The facility is now operating at 103.97 percent rated capacity more than last year’s level of 93.32 percent. Its performance continue to improve with 90.04 and 91.11 percent reduction rate of biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand compared to the allowable standard of 85 percent.
The average Total Suspended Particulates (TSP) in micro gram per normal cubic meter is 200 in 2003 and 198 in 2004, taking into account the air quality of the surrounding areas of the Central Business Areas which are still within the fair to good condition since Baguio City has a good to fair air quality. The Ambient Air Quality (AAQ) Standard is pegged at 230 TSP.
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