Philippine E-Journals

Water Resource Management Practices of Food Establishments In Siquijor Province

Steven J. Sumaylo

 

Abstract:

Water is one of the basic needs of human beings and is imperative forsustaining the quality of life on earth (Brooks, 2006). However, its unbalancedand unmanaged use makes its scarce. Hence, this study assessed the water resourcemanagement practices of the 53 food establishments in Siquijor Province. Thestudy utilized the descriptive survey using a self- made questionnaire whichyielded that majority of the respondents are females and are in the age brackets of18-40 and 41-62. A greater majority of the establishments were in the operationfor more than ten years. As to respondents’ water resource management practices, they often do not let water flow while cleaning or rinsing, check the water supplysystem for leaks and turn off unnecessary flows, and adjust water flow by the typeof cleaning to be undertaken, but they Never install self-closing faucets. However,reading water meter regularly, washing only full loads in the dishwasher, andinstalling low flush toilets were sometimes done while installing automatic watervolume controls, reusing the rinse water from the dishwasher and installing flowregulators on the faucet heads were seldom practiced. The respondents’ sex, ageand number of years in operating the business had no significant relationships totheir extent of water resource management practices. Thus, it is concluded thatbetter management coupled with effective policy, awareness and efficient systemis vital to enhance water resource management.