SM City Baguio set to convert rainwater to potable water
BAGUIO CITY – SM City Baguio launched today the first of its kind in a mall-setting facility that
will convert rainwater to potable water and help contribute to the city’s water conservation
and recycling efforts.
“The mall’s Rainwater Filtration facility will supply the mall with enough potable water that can
be redistributed to mall tenants for various uses including washing, cleaning and safe for
drinking, to help reduce sourcing from the communities’ water table, leaving more water
supply for the Baguio community to use,” SM Supermalls Senior Vice President Bien C. Mateo
disclosed.
While SM has been recycling water for decades since the 1990’s, the water-saving innovation is
part of SM Prime’s sustainability program towards responsible consumption and carbon
footprint reduction, according to Mr. Mateo. “We invest in water conservation technology to
eliminate water wastage and adopt stricter measures to reduce consumption. More
innovations are being done to recycle more water and filter more rainwater across the
properties and estates of SM Prime.”
In 2022, the real estate developer has recycled a total of 3.58 million cubic meters of water
across its properties in the Philippines.
As of June 2023, SM Prime has already installed water catchment basins in 25 malls to help
prevent flooding as well as soil erosion during sudden high volumes of rainfall.
The rainwater catchment system installed in SM City Baguio can draw and store a total of 51
million liters of rainwater in a year, based on 2022 PAGASA rainfall volume for Baguio City. This
is equivalent to 20 Olympic-size swimming pools, 13.4M gallons of drinking water, 373,510 full
baths and 672,318 10-minute showers.
How does it work?
During rain fall, rainwater is collected in the tank and treated for reuse within the mall. To make
rainwater safe for use, the harvested water goes through a 6-step treatment processes –
Multimedia Filtration, Water Softener, Activated Carbon, Ultra Filtration, Reverse Osmosis and
Ozonization – the treated rainwater from the tank will be re-distributed as supply for the mall
tenants for various uses including washing, cleaning and safe for drinking.
Working towards a better tomorrow for its communities, officials from the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources of Cordillera Administrative Region (DENR-CAR) have acknowledged the efforts of the mall in providing a long-term solution amidst the growing concern on water security.
“We are grateful for your attention to the predicament on water scarcity in Baguio City,” DENR
Regional Director of CAR Engineer Jean Borromeo in a message to SM Prime. “Water scarcity is
one of the biggest issues that Baguio is facing today because deep wells have already dried up
the city’s water table. It is good to see how SM Prime is taking its responsibility to the
environment seriously, practically addressing the biggest environmental threat to Baguio City.”
“This will greatly help reduce sourcing from the city’s water table and more water supply for
the community to use. Not only does SM considers what’s best for its shopping customers, but
also take into consideration the importance of water security as one of its priorities,” RD
Borromeo added.
The Rainwater Filtration facility is one of SM Prime Holding’s initiatives to its commitment
towards sustainable development in the communities it serves.
SM Prime is committed to supporting the United Nations in achieving its Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG), including SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 9: Industry,
Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 12:
Responsible Consumption and Production and SDG 13: Climate Action which aims to ensure the
availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.