I.

INTRODUCTION

This engineering report describes the existing wastewater

collection, storage, treatment, and disposal of the
Gonzales-Jimenez Dental Clinic as part of the DENR-EMB
Wastewater Discharge Permit application requirements.

II. NATURE OF THE PROJECT

The Gonzales-Jimenez Dental Clinic is an establishment

classified as health care facility with PSIC Code No. 86
[1] and located at A. Banzon St. Ibayo, City of Balanga,
Bataan. The establishment offers general dental services
and performs common dental procedures including but no
limited to the following:

1. Teeth Cleaning – is the removal of any plaque and tartar

from the surface of the teeth, near the gum line and in
between the teeth.

2. Dental Filling – a treatment that includes removal of

decayed dental tissues and filling of teeth cracks using
dental resins and other appropriate materials.

3. Dental Crowns – are used to repair teeth that have been

badly damage by decay or injury by covering them
completely thus protecting the teeth from further
infection and damage.

4. Tooth Extraction – is the complete removal or pull out

of severely decayed tooth or painful wisdom tooth.

5. Dental Implant – is the replacement of damaged real tooth

by a permanent artificial tooth.

6. Braces – are used to position the teeth in a way that

makes them aesthetically pleasing and easy to clean.

III. NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF WASTEWATER, AVERAGE DAILY

WATER CONSUMPTION AND WASTEWATER GENERATION

The wastewater generated in the establishment is referred

to as dental wastewater and considered as commercial
wastewater. It is mainly composed of health care wastewater
and sewage. The sewage is those originating from restroom
usage and other similar household-like activities. On the
other hand, dental procedures and dental equipment cleaning
produce health care wastewater like blood and saliva that
are considered as pathological and infectious [2]. However,

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as constituents of wastewater only, these health care
wastes are exempted hazardous waste as stipulated in DENR
DAO 2013-22 Table 2.2 [3]. In most cases, for the
convenience of wastewater characterization, raw dental
wastewater is treated as domestic wastewater because of no
substantial difference in the characteristics and quality
of the significant effluent parameters [1][4]. The
characterization of the raw wastewater of the establishment
was based on average domestic wastewater as show in Table
3.1:

Table 3.1. Raw Wastewater Characteristics

Significant Parameters [1] Characteristics

Color : Gray
Temperature : 20°-35° C
pH : 6.5-9.0
BOD5 : 100-300 mg/L
Total Suspended Solids : 100-350 mg/L
Fecal Coliform : 5x105-3x106 MPN/100mL
Ammonia (NH3-N) : 12-50 mg/L
Nitrate (NO3-N) : < 1.0 mg/L
Phosphate (Total Phosphorus) : 6-20 mg/L
Oil and Grease : 70-105 mg/L
Surfactants : 9-18 mg/L

Sources: Adapted from [4] Spellman, 2009; [5] USEPA Onsite

Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual (2002)

Based on the provided water billing records, the average

daily water consumption of the establishment is around 0.33
m³.

The average daily volume discharge of raw wastewater to the

septic tank is around 0.25 m³. The estimation is based on
the average daily water consumption and considering
wastewater generation rate of 75% of the water consumption.
The factor is employed so as not to yield unreasonably high
value and to avoid underestimation.

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IV. TREATMENT PROCESS AND ESTIMATED TREATMENT EFFICIENCY

The establishment has a three-chamber septic tank that

received the raw wastewater, refer to Annex A. The
collection system or conveyance of raw wastewater from the
building to the septic tank is by means of gravity through
the building sewer. The septic tank serves as temporary
containment facility thus no further treatment process is
connected and no untreated wastewater is directly
discharged to the environment. The wastewater is intended
to be hauled, treated, and disposed by a DENR/DOH
accredited service provider. The septic tank can store a
total volume of 5.0 m³. Subsequently, while storing the
wastewater, the septic tank also offers partial or primary
treatment through anaerobic biological process [6]. The
treatment process is expected to have contaminant removal
efficiency as shown in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1. Septic tank contaminant removal efficiency

Significant Parameters Removal

Efficiency

BOD5 : * 30-50% removal

Total Suspended Solids : * 60-80% removal
Fecal Coliform : ** 50% removal
Ammonia (NH3-N) : ** Insignificant
Nitrate (NO3-N) : ** Insignificant
Phosphate (Total Phosphorus) : ** Insignificant
Oil and Grease : * 60-80% removal
Surfactants : ** Insignificant

Sources: Adapted from *DOH AO 2019-0047 and **Lowe et al, Table

3-1 through 3-12.

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V. FINAL DISCHARGE OF FINAL TREATED WASTEWATER AND NAME OF
RECEIVING BODY OF WATER AND ITS OFFICIAL CLASSIFICATION

Since the septic tank only serves as temporary containment

facility, the wastewater is intended to be hauled, treated,
and disposed by a DENR/DOH accredited service provider.
Therefore, the final discharge of the wastewater is beyond
control of the establishment and will be determined by the
service provider. Figure 5.1 shows the wastewater flow
diagram, from generation to treatment.

Figure 5.1. Wastewater Flow Diagram

The discharge of wastewater by the service provider is

expected to comply all the existing environmental laws and
regulations. To ensure the wastewater will be discharged in
an environmentally acceptable manner, only DENR/DOH
accredited company will be commissioned by the establishment.

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VI. INFORMATION ON FLOW MEASUREMENT EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURE

The monitoring of the wastewater volume in the septic

tank is more of a concern. Ensuring that the tank will
not attain its full capacity such that overflowing in
plumbing fixtures occurs is essential to maintain the
continuous operation of the establishment. Thus, frequent
inspection of the septic tank specifically measuring the
wastewater liquid level is necessary, and regular septage
siphoning is required.

Septic tank inspection is done once every week. There is

no available mechanical or automated means of reading the
wastewater liquid level in the septic tank. The checking
is performed manually through visual inspection and using
measuring stick. The following procedures are done in
determining the wastewater volume in the septic tank.

1. Prepare all necessary tools and equipment.

2. Wear personal protective equipment such as
breathing mask, eye protection glass, gloves,
safety shoes and cover-all suit.
3. Open the access manholes, step back and stand by.
Let the trapped gases diffuse and dilute into the
open air before resuming.
4. Check the liquid volume. The septic tank is full
when the liquid level is above the invert of the
inlet pipe. If the liquid level is below the invert
of the inlet pipe, the actual volume can be
determined by measuring the liquid height.
5. Determine the actual volume by dipping a 2 meter
long stick up to the bottom slab and measuring the
liquid height in both chambers.
6. Compute the volume by multiplying the actual liquid
height to the width and length of the chambers.
7. Then all relevant details such as date and time of
inspection, liquid level, actual volume, and
wastewater condition are logged onto the monitoring
sheet.
8. Finally, securely close the septic tank.

The siphoning (i.e., hauling) of the wastewater will be

scheduled when the liquid level in the septic tank reaches
about ninety five percent (~95%) of the capacity. This
will provide enough margin of security against risk
of overflowing before being transported.

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VII. POLLUTION PREVENTION/ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

A. OBJECTIVE

The Gonzales-Jimenez Dental Clinic is committed to reduce

pollutants released to the air, land, water, and proper
handling, storing and disposal of all hazardous and non-
hazardous waste. Thus, environmental compliance and
continuous improvement of waste reduction is intentionally
incorporated on its daily operation. Consequently, this EMP
was devised with the aim to manage and keep to a minimum
the negative impacts of the project to the staffs,
community, and environment. The specific objectives of the
EMP are as follows:

1. Identify the role and responsibility of all the

stakeholders on pollution prevention initiative.
2. Systemize environmental laws compliance monitoring
and reporting.
3. Organize basic environmental awareness seminars and
trainings to all stakeholders.
4. State necessary actions in handling, collecting,
storage, treatment, and disposal of all generated
waste.
5. Ensure that all environmental laws and guidelines
are being complied.

B. RESPONSIBILITY

All stakeholders must work together for effective

implementation of the EMP and to meet its objectives. Each
personnel have assigned role and responsibility to carry
out in the execution of the EMP as summarized below.

1. The Managing Heads are responsible for the overall

management of the project and EMP implementation.
2. The Pollution Control Officer/ HSE Officer is
responsible for implementing the EMP during
operations.
3. All staffs must comply and cooperate.

C. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

A monitoring program will be implemented regularly. This

program will include:
1. Monthly environmental inspections to check
compliance with EMP.
2. Compilation of an inspection report complete with
corrective actions for implementation
3. Monthly meeting and reporting to be held to ensure
compliance.

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D. TRAINING AND AWARENESS

All stakeholders must receive basic training in

environmental awareness and management, including the
storage and handling of hazardous substances and waste,
management of solid waste, and prevention of water and air
pollution.

All stakeholders must have a copy of the Environmental

Management Plan (EMP). A hard copy must be present in the
establishment and accessible to all at any given time.

E. HEALTH CARE WASTE MANAGEMENT

The waste generated in all activities in the establishment

is classified as health care waste and can be
furtherly categorized as general waste, infectious waste/
pathological waste, sharps, pharmaceutical waste,
genotoxic waste, chemical waste, radioactive waste, and
among others [2].The handling, collection, storage, and
transport of these health care wastes shall be in
accordance with the provisions of PD 856 (Chapter
XVIII, 1998), RA 8749, RA 6969, RA 9003, DOH Health Care
Waste Management Manual and DENR-DOH Joint AO 2005-02.

The collection and storage of the health care waste within

the establishment shall be done with safety precautions.
Utilization of personal protective equipment (PPE) is
required if handling waste that are found to be hazardous.
The segregation of health care waste shall be strictly
observed. The storage of waste shall be in a separate
container for each type of waste with sufficient number and
size to accommodate the total volume of waste produced
within the collection period of 3 days. The refuse
container shall be properly marked with corresponding waste
category and shall be color-coded. The standard color
coding for refuse storage is as follows [8]:

 Black – for storage of non-biodegradable general

waste.
 Green – for storage of biodegradable general waste.
 Yellow – for storage of infectious and pathological
waste.
 Orange – for storage of radioactive waste.
 Red – for storage of sharps and pressurized
containers
 Yellow with black band – for storage of chemical
waste.

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 Fire extinguishers and chemical spill kits shall be readily
available in areas where risk of fire and chemical
spilling are expected.

The temporarily stored health care wastes in

the establishment are intended to be transported,
treated, and disposed of by a Health Care Waste
Transporter and a TSD (Treatment, Storage and Disposal)
Facility licensed by the DENR-Environmental Management
Bureau. The treatment and final disposal are up to the
TSD Facility to determine and will not furtherly discuss
here.

F. WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

The wastewater generated in the establishment is

categorized as commercial waste and characterized as shown
in Table 3.1 [1][2]. The collection, storage, transport,
treatment, and disposal of wastewater shall be in
accordance to RA 9725, PD 856 (Chapter XVII, 2021) and all
relevant DENR and DOH department orders [9].

All wastewater generated in the establishment shall be

conveyed and temporarily stored in the three-chambered
septic tank. The outlet of the tank shall be capped to
warrant that no untreated or partially treated wastewater
will be directly discharged to the environment. The septic
shall be regularly inspected and wastewater shall be pump
out if the tank reaches its 95% capacity. The transport,
treatment, and disposal of wastewater store in the septic
tank is to be carried out by the service providers. Only
DENR/DOH accredited service provider will be commissioned
to ensure environmental compliance and only environmentally
acceptable effluent will be discharge to the environment.
The treatment and final disposal are up to the service
provide to determine and will not furtherly discuss here.

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REFERENCES:

[1] DENR DAO 2016-08. Water Quality Guidelines and General

Effluent Standard of 2016.
[2] Joint DENR-DOH AO 2005-02. Policies and guidelines on the
effective and proper handling, collection, transport, treatment,
storage, and disposal of health care wastes.
[3] DENR DAO 2013-22. Revised Procedures and Standards for the
Management of Hazardous Wastes.
[4] Spellman, F. 2009. Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant
Operations 2nd Edition. CRC Press, NW.
[5] USEPA. 2002. Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual.
Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
[6] DOH AO 2019-0047. National Standard on the Design,
Construction, Operation, and Maintenance of Septic Tank Systems.
[7] Lowe, K.S., N.K. Rothe, J.M.B. Tomaras, K.DeJong,
M.B.Tucholke, J.E.McCray, and J.Munakata-Marr.”Influent
Constituent Characteristics of Modern Waste Stream from single
sources: Literature Review”. Water Environment Research
Foundation. Technical Report. 2007.
[8] PD 856 “Sanitation Code of the Philippines”, Implementing
Rules and Regulations of Chapter XVIII (Refuse Disposal).
Department of Health. 1998.
[9] PD 856 “Sanitation Code of the Philippines”, Implementing
Rules and Regulations of Chapter XVII (Sewage Collection and
Disposal, Excreta Disposal and Drainage). Department of
Health. 2021.

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ANNEX A: SEPTIC TANK DETAILS

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