Pasig River ferry halted temporarily due to volume of water hyacinths

The usual bevy of water hyacinths which congest the Pasig River during the rainy season has forced the cancellation temporarily of the ferry service along the waterway.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Tuesday, October 6, it was indefinitely suspending all trips of the Pasig River Ferry Service (PRFS).

The MMDA said the reason for the suspension was the high volume of water hyacinths, also called water lily, clogging the Pasig River and hampering the ferry service.

Pasig River old-timers who are familiar with ebb and flow of the waterway that cuts through the metropolis have seen this parade of water lilies jamming the channel every monsoon.

“Pansamantalang suspendido ang operasyon ng Pasig River Ferry Service dahil sa makapal na water hyacinth sa kahabaan ng Ilog Pasig na nagiging problema para makapagbiyahe [nang] maayos ang ating mga bangka,” the agency said in a statement. (We are temporarily suspending the operation of the Pasig River Ferry Service because of the thick water hyacinth which has clogged the stretch of the Pasig River hampers the operation of the ferries.)

The MMDA said it has deployed teams to clean up and reduce the volume of water hyacinths in the river.

“Bagama’t tuloy-tuloy ang clean-up activities ng MMDA sa ilog sa pamamagitan ng trash skimmer, trash boat at trash trap, hindi ito naging sapat sa patuloy na pagdami ng water hyacinth sa Ilog Pasig tuwing sumasapit ang panahon ng tag-ulan,” MMDA added. (Despite the use of trash skimmers, boats, and traps, these are not enough to reduce the continuous flow of the water hyacinths during the rainy season.)

On Wednesday, October 7, the MMDA said it would harvest the water hyacinths clogging the Napindahan Flood Gate.

The agency said it would use an arm backhoe for this purpose. – Rappler.com