ASTRERO, KRISTLE JEIAN V. MS.

BEVERLY CADIENTE, RMT

BMLS 1A, 5070 APRIL 4, 2022

ACTIVITY X: WATER TESTING LABORATORY LAWS

WATER is important because all organisms need it to live.

WATER should be tested to determine the presence of contaminants, which can be either
chemical or living toxic agents.

WATER SUPPLY IN THE PHILIPPINES

 Water originates from lakes, rivers, river basins, ground water, and reservoirs.
 Water has to pass through installed pumps and pipe lines.
 To ensure that the quality of water is safe for human consumption, it has to undergo the
PROCESS OF FILTRATION AND PURIFICATION, as part of water treatment and
sanitation.
 Government agencies
 Non-government agencies
 Local government units
 Other corporations

SOURCES OF WATER

 AMBUKLAO DAM and HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT in BOKOD, BENGUET

– largest dams in the country.
 Used for flood control, irrigation, and generation of hydroelectric power in Baguio and
some Central Luzon
 MAGAT DAM in ISABELA
 ANGAT DAM, IPO DAM, and LA MESA DAM in METRO MANILA
ASTRERO, KRISTLE JEIAN V. MS. BEVERLY CADIENTE, RMT
BMLS 1A, 5070 APRIL 4, 2022

WATER SERVICES

 AGRICULTURE
o Main focus of agricultural water management for irrigation
 INDUSTRIES
o Industrial water is mainly used in factories, finished products, and industrial
plants and mines
 DOMESTIC USE
o The main purpose of water in domestic areas is for the daily consumption by
residents and households.

WATER PROVIDERS

 Different sectors in the Philippines:

o NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOs)
 Alternative supporting agencies of the government. Main concern is the
provision of social services and basic needs like water to the communities.
o COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS
 Include cooperatives, barangay water services associations, and rural
water supply associations.
 They cater to the different barangays within the same locality
o LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)
 The management, provision, and maintenance of water supply to the
different districts have been devolved to the LGU and LWUA
o WATER DISTRICTS
 These are government-funded and controlled municipal entities.
 They usually supply water to the different cities and municipalities outside
manila.
o SMALL-SCALE INDEPENDENT PROVIDERS
 They comprise the homeowner associations, individual entrepreneurs, and
real estate developers
 They supply water to the different cities and municipalities in Manila and
Cebu
o LARGE-SCALE PRIVATE OPERATORS
 These corporations operate within Metro Manila.
 They are the extension of the services rendered by the MAYNILAD
WATER SERVICES, INC and MANILA WATER COMPANY, INC.
 They pursue the government’s thrust of privatizing basic water services.
ASTRERO, KRISTLE JEIAN V. MS. BEVERLY CADIENTE, RMT
BMLS 1A, 5070 APRIL 4, 2022

WATER AND ITS CONTAMINANTS AND POLLUTANTS

 WATER POLLUTION – mainly caused by chemicals, living organisms, and human

activities.
- It may refer to physical, chemical, or biological changes in the quality of
water, making it unsafe for human consumption

WATER POLLUTANTS

 FIRST CATEGORY
o Includes bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites.
o May enter sewage system and untreated wastes
o Make sewage system as their habitat
 SECOND CATEGORY
o Oxygen-demanding wastes
o Usually occurs when a population of bacteria lives in these wastes that deplete
oxygen levels in the water
 THIRD CATEGORY
o Water-soluble inorganic pollutants like acid, base, salts, and toxic metals
o May cause disease or infections
 FOURTH CATEGORY
o Nutrients
o They comprise the water-soluble nitrates and phosphates that usually deplete
oxygen supply in the water.
o May cause eutrophication, the natural nutrient enrichment of lakes and streams
which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of
oxygen
 FIFTH CATEGORY
o Organic substances such as oils, plastics, and pesticides.
o They render water unfit for drinking
o They may become suspended particles on the water’s surface.
 LAST CATEGORY
o Radioactive compounds
ASTRERO, KRISTLE JEIAN V. MS. BEVERLY CADIENTE, RMT
BMLS 1A, 5070 APRIL 4, 2022

SOURCE OF WATER POLLUTANTS

1. FARMING
a. Use of pesticides and herbicides leads to water pollution.
b. These toxic chemicals affect the living organisms dependent on water.
c. They also linger in the water over a longer period of time
d. Farmers also utilize chemical fertilizers that are harmful to humans
2. BUSINESS
a. The wastes and sewage generated by industries can seep into the water supply.
b. Many industries and power plants utilize rivers, lakes, and streams to remove
wastes, thus polluting these bodies of water.
c. Industries also generate heat during their operations, resulting in thermal
pollution.
3. HOUSEHOLDS
a. From septic tanks into nearby waterways introduces organic pollutants that
can cause EUTROPHICATION
b. Improper disposal of human and animal excreta can cause water pollution

PERTINENT LAWS AND REGULATIONS ON WATER SUPPLY

1. PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 856

 CODE ON SANITATION OF THE PHIIPPINES
 It was enacted to promote the healthy and safe consumption of water.
 The authority to promulgate rules and regulations is vested in the SECRETARY
OF DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH by the virtue of SECTION 4 OF THE CODE.

TYPE OF EXAMINATION

1. INITIAL EXAMINATION
 Physical, chemical, and bacteriological examination of water from newly
constructed systems are requires before they are operated and opened for public
use.
 Possible radioactive contamination should be done initially
2. PERIODIC EXAMINATION
 Water from existing sources is subjected to bacteriological examination as often
as possible but the interval shall not be longer than six months
 General systematic chemical examination shall be conducted every 12 months or
oftener
ASTRERO, KRISTLE JEIAN V. MS. BEVERLY CADIENTE, RMT
BMLS 1A, 5070 APRIL 4, 2022

 Examination of water sources shall be conducted yearly for possible radioactive

combination.

SECTION 13 – OTHER PROTECTIVE MEASURES

 Washing clothes or bathing within the radius of 25 meters from any well or other sources
of drinking water is prohibited
 No artesian, deep or shallow well, shall be constructed within 25 meters from any source
of pollution
 No radioactive sources or materials shall be stored within a radius of 25 meters from any
well or source of drinking water
 No person charged with the management of a public water supply system shall permit
any physical connection between its distribution system and that of any other water
supply
 The installation of booster pump to boost water direct from the water distribution line of
a water supply system where low-water pressure prevails is prohibited.

2. ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 31, s. 1979

 Prescribes the rules and regulations governing the accreditation of water analysis
laboratories
 Requirements include personnel, physical plant, equipment, apparatus, and other
materials, manner of reporting the result, application for license to operate,
inspection, issuance and renewal of certificate to operate, violations, revocations
of license, and updating requirements.

3. 1976 NATIONAL WATER CODE (P.D 1067)

 Took effect on December 31, 1976
 Former President Ferdinand Marcos
 There is water scarcity and the patterns or levels of waters of the Philippines
belong to the state
 Designed to revise and consolidate the utilization, ownership, appropriation,
development, exploitation, conservation, and exploitation of natural resources
 Created the NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES COUNCIL to control and
regulate the water resources in the country.

4. PHILIPPINE WATER ACT OF 2002 (R.A. 9275)

 PHILIPPINE WATER ACT OF 2004
 It provides consistent protection, preservation, and revival of the quality of water
system in the Philippines
ASTRERO, KRISTLE JEIAN V. MS. BEVERLY CADIENTE, RMT
BMLS 1A, 5070 APRIL 4, 2022

 It also mandates a comprehensive water quality management policy amidst

economic growth
 The main focus of this act is water quality management system and international
mechanisms and standards
 As stated in P.D NO. 856, the examining laboratories can be private or
government laboratories duly accredited by the DOH.
 It is responsibility of the operator of the water system to submit water samples for
analysis to the DOH at an interval period prescribed by the department.