AWARENESS AND PRACTICES OF BARANGAY 19

WATER POLLUTION

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

Over two thirds of earth’s surface is covered by water; less than a third is taken up

by land. As Earth’s population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing

pressure on the planet’s water resources.

Pollution has always been a major concern in a various areas all over the country.

It has continued to cause tremendous problems, problems that even the government could

not resolve. It has greatly affected not only the health of the community but also their

livelihood and way of living. Despite of preventive measures which have been

implemented through the years, the problem has persisted specifically on water pollution.

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 Water forms in the country have been the source of livelihood of the majority of

Filipino even during the earliest times. Since the Philippines is surrounded by bodies of

water, fishing is one of the major industry in this part of the globe. People depend so

much in abundance of water resources to provide for their daily needs. Aside from the

source of livelihood, water also is a means of transportation, a source of electrical energy,

a necessity in every household in doing their daily chores and can also be a means to

attract tourist’s investors.

The residents of Barangay 19 live in a community that is facing the sea and also

near the river. Fishing is one of the major sources of income of the people. They were

endowed with beautiful beaches that are tourists and various local and foreign investors.

Indeed, the bodies of water surrounding these communities have been a great blessing for

the residents of these Barangay.

On an international perspective Chris Woodford(2014) water pollution can be

defined in many ways. Usually, it means one or more substances have built up in water to

such an extent that they cause problems for animals or people. Oceans, lakes, rivers, and

other inland waters can naturally clean up a certain amount of pollution by dispersing it

harmlessly. If you poured a cup of black ink into a river, the ink would quickly disappear

into the river's much larger volume of clean water. The ink would still be there in the

river, but in such a low concentration that you would not be able to see it. At such low

levels, the chemicals in the ink probably would not present any real problem. However, if

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you poured gallons of ink into a river every few seconds through a pipe, the river would

quickly turn black. The chemicals in the ink could very quickly have an effect on the

quality of the water. This, in turn, could affect the health of all the plants, animals, and

humans whose lives depend on the river. Thus, water pollution is all about quantities:

how much of a polluting substance is released and how big a volume of water it is

released into. A small quantity of a toxic chemical may have little impact if it is spilled

into the ocean from a ship. But the same amount of the same chemical can have a much

bigger impact pumped into a lake or river, where there is less clean water to disperse it.

The main goal of this study is to assess the awareness of residents with regards to

water pollution. Their insight regarding their practices as inhabitant nearby water will

likewise be thoroughly assed to shed light to the issue of pollution of water in Barangay

19.

QUESTIONAIRE

I. Respondents describe their level of awareness with water pollution.

Instruction: Check the number that corresponds to your answer.

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 1 – not all aware 3 – moderately aware
2 – slightly aware 4 – extremely aware

1 2 3 4
1. Dirty water can threaten the quality of life among
residents living in coastal area.
2. Improper waste disposal can contribute and will
further damage the bodies of water in Barangay 19
3. Household living near the bodies of water contribute
to the increasing water pollution in the City.
4. The increasing population contributes to the
increasing pollution of the bodies of water.
5. Water pollution can affect the income of the residents.
6.Paint, solvents, or used motor oil may be disposed
near the river.
7. Water pollution can affect the water supply in the
future.
8. Garbage and waste can contaminate the water that
causes water pollution.
9. Improper disposal of human and animal wastes can
cause contamination of the water.
10. Untreated pollutants are drained into the nearest
water body, such as stream, lake or harbour, causing
water pollution.
11. Marine life becomes deteriorated due to water
pollution
12. Skin lesion, cholera and diarrhea are often linked to
the harmful polluted water.
13.. Grass clippings, garden trimmings, and fallen leaves
can be a source of water pollution
14. Improper treatment of sewage leads to the
accumulation of solids, such as biomass sludge. This
solid waste makes the river or creek dirty.
15. Water pollution is inevitable if we are going to
continue to make improvements in our standard of

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 living.

II. Practices that contribute to water pollution.

Instruction: Check the column that corresponds to your answer.

Always Sometimes Never

1.Garbage Disposal;
a. We segregate our own garbage
b. We buried at the shore line
c. We throw directly at the bodies of water
d. We burn our waste near the shorelines
e. We dump our garbage along the rivers/shorelines
f. We recycle the garbage that has benefits/use like
bottles etc.
g. We sell our recyclable garbage like bottles, cans,
and paper in the junkshop.
2.Excreta Disposal:
a. We use septic tanks in disposing excreta
b. We buried near the shore/river
c. We throw animal’sdung into the bodies of water
d. We dispose directly at the bodies of water
e. We used to feed for the animals
3.Sewage and waste water
a. We directly adrift to the bodies of water
b. We drain it to the septic tank
c. We use to water the plants.
d. The storm water drain in the street runs into the
local creek.
e. We adrift our sewage to the drainage that is
connected to river