Household wastes have become the primary pollutant in the Pasig River overtaking wastes from industrial facilities, according to Engineer Francisco Vargas of the Pasig River Rehabilitation (PRR) project during the weekly Tinapayan sa Dapitan forum in Manila Sunday.

Citing an ongoing study that was started in January 2000, Vargas said authorities found out that river wastes coming from factories dropped by 10 percent while the volume of domestic wastes was cut by just 5 percent.

But despite the decline of industrial and domestic wastes, the volume of household refuses surged by 10 percent due to local migration and rise of informal settlers in National Capital Region (NCR) and neighboring provinces, Vargas said.

"Ang pagtaas ng household wastes ay bunga ng pagdami ng tao sa Metro Manila, gayundin ang mga informal settlers na ang mga basura ay inihahagis na lamang sa Pasig River," he said.

For his part, Jimboy Mallari of PRR expressed confidence that they are right on track in cleaning the river as he said that they are expecting Pasig River to "come alive" in the year 2015.

"Dahil sa proyektong linisin ang ilog Pasig, magandang balita na may mga isda nang bumabalik, bagama’t huwag nilang kainin ang mga isdang nahuhuli sa Pasig River dahil kontaminado pa ang tubig at marami pang toxic materials na nakahalo sa Pasig River," he said.

Among the programs aimed in reviving Pasig River include the river dredging project and the establishment of a sewage system of Maynilad and Manila Water Company which is expected to be finished in 2025.