The Efficiency and Social Acceptability of the Constructed Wetland of Bayawan City, Negros Oriental

Abstract

The efficiency of constructed wetland becomes an issue in wastewater management because of the investments put into
its establishment relative to the benefits it can offer. Of equal importance is the issue of social acceptability because it produces
foul odor from the untreated effluents, occupies considerable space, and creates visual impediments in a given place. To deal
with these issues, laboratory analyses were conducted revealing that the treated water from the constructed wetland of Bayawan City had significantly improved in terms of physico-chemical qualities as compared to the pre-treated water. The household survey correspondingly supported the laboratory findings as evidently shown in the high social acceptability of the constructed wetland among the residents of Fishermen’s Gawad Kalinga Village where this is located. However, it has low social acceptability from the nearby residents and a minority of the GK residents surveyed who can smell the foul odor emitted during the release of the untreated effluents into the treatment pond. This paper concludes that, as a whole, the constructed wetland of Bayawan City rates high in efficiency and social acceptability.