CLEARED Floating and fixed cottages that used to abound along the coastal water of Cordova town on Mactan Island, Cebu have been demolished by authorities, as shown in this November 2022 photo, after the coliform bacteria found in the municipality’s sea rose to unsafe level due to the septic waste from these structures. Mayor Cesar Suan on March 3 lifted the swimming ban following a drop in the level of coliform bacteria in its waters. FUTCH ANTHONY INSO/CONTRIBUTOR
CEBU CITY—Swimming in the sea of Cordova town on Mactan Island in Cebu province is back.
Mayor Cesar Suan has lifted the ban on swimming in the municipality following a drop in the level of coliform bacteria in the town’s seas.
“Swimming is now allowed because the sea is already clean,” according to Cordova Councilor Lemuel Pogoy, chair of the council’s committee on environment, in an interview over radio dyHP on March 3.
Recent results of a water quality check conducted by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) showed that the fecal coliform level in the sea of Cordova has decreased to 0.8 most probable number (mpn) per 100 milliliters (ml), he said.
For coastal water to be safe for swimming, the coliform levels should not be higher than 100 mpn per 100 ml, the EMB earlier said.
In August last year, the coliform level in the sea off Cordova was 2,400 mpn per 100 ml, which was believed to have been caused by septic waste from numerous floating restaurants in the area, which were tourist drawers for the town.
Enjoy ‘our seas’
Cordova, the only other local government unit on the island, is positioning itself as a tourist destination to match the progress of its wealthy neighbor, Lapu-Lapu City, which hosts Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the busiest air gateway outside of the national capital; Mactan Export Processing Zone, home to some of the country’s biggest export manufacturing firms; and a number of world-renown resorts and hotels.
Pogoy said Suan decided to reopen their seas for swimming even as they were still waiting for the result of the second test conducted by the EMB, which was expected to be released within this month.
But since the first test showed that the coliform level “was already very low, people could [now] swim in our seas,” Pogoy said.