Water Pollution

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 Overview
oCategories of Water
Pollution
oTypes of Water Pollution
o Water Quality Today
oLaws Controlling Water
Pollution in the Philippines
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 Types of Water Pollution
o Water pollution
• Any physical or chemical change in
water that adversely affects the
health of humans and other
organisms
• Varies in magnitude by location
o Major water pollution issue
globally
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 Categories of
water pollution
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 1. Sewage
oThe release of
wastewater from drains
or sewers
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o Causes 2 serious environmental problems:
• Enrichment
• Fertilization of a body of water by high
levels of plant and algal nutrients
(nitrogen and phosphorus)
• Increase in Biological Oxygen Demand
(BOD)
• Amount of oxygen needed by
microorganisms to decompose biological
wastes

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Sewage

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 Sewage- Eutrophication
o Oligotrophic
• Unenriched, clear water that supports
small populations of aquatic organisms

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 Sewage- Eutrophication
o Eutrophic-
• Slow-flowing stream, lake or estuary enriched
by inorganic plant and algal nutrients such as
phosphorus

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 2. Disease-causing Agents
o Infectious organisms
that cause diseases
• Originate in th e wastes
of infected individuals
o Common bacterial or
viral diseases:
• Typhoid, cholera,
bacterial dysentery, polio,
and infectious hepatitis
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 Disease-causing Agents
o Monitored by testing for presence of E. coli in
the water via a fecal coliform test
• Indicates the presence of pathogenic organisms

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 3. Sediment Pollution
o Excessive amounts of suspended soil particles
• Originates from erosion of agricultural lands,
forest soils exposed by logging, degraded
stream banks, overgrazed rangelands, strip
mines, and construction
o Problems
• Limits light penetration
• Covers aquatic animals and plants
• Brings insoluble toxins into waterways
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 4. Inorganic Plant and
Algal Nutrients
o Chemicals such as nitrogen and phosphorus
that stimulate the growth of plants and algae
• Harmful in large concentrations
o Sources:
• Human and animal wastes, plant residues,
atmospheric deposition, and fertilizer runoff
o Causes:
• Enrichment, bad odors, and a high BOD
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Inorganic Plant and Algal Nutrient-
The Dead Zone

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 5. Organic Compounds
o Chemicals that contain carbon
atoms
• Natural examples: sugars,
amino acids, and oils
• Human-made examples:
pesticides, solvents, industrial
chemicals, and plastics
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 6. Inorganic Chemicals
o Contaminants that contain elements other than
carbon
• Examples: acids, salts, and heavy metals
o Do not degrade easily
o Lead
• Found in old paint, industrial pollutants, leaded
gasoline
o Mercury
• Mercury bioaccumulates in the muscles of top
predators of the open ocean
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 7. Radioactive Substances
o Contain atoms of unstable isotopes
that spontaneously emit radiation
o Sources
• Mining
• Processing radioactive materials
• Nuclear power plants
• Natural sources
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 8. Thermal Pollution
o Occurs when heated water
produced during industrial
processes is released into
waterways
o Organisms affected
• Temperature affects
reproductive cycles, digestion
rates, and respiration rates
• Warm water holds less DO
than cold water
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 Two Types of Water
Pollution
1. -Point Source Pollution
• water pollution that can be traced to a specific
origin
• Discharge via pipes, sewage, and ditches
2. -Non-point Source Pollution
• Pollutants that enter bodies of water over large
areas rather than being concentrated at a single
point of entry
• Diffuse, but its cumulative effect is very large
• Ex: runoff from agricultural fields or parking lots
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 Point Source
vs.
Nonpoint Source
Pollution

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1. Point Source Pollution
• comes from a
specific source,
like a pipe,
factories, industry,
municipal
treatment plants
• can be monitored
and controlled by a
permit system
Basically, a source you can directly “point” to!
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2. Nonpoint Source Pollution
• Nonpoint Source
(NPS) Pollution is
pollution associated
with storm water or
runoff
• NPS pollution cannot
be traced to a direct
discharge point such
as a wastewater
treatment facility
When you can’t pinpoint any one particular
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Examples of NONPOINT SOURCE

• oil & grease from • sewage & cleaners

cars from boats
• fertilizers • household
• animal waste cleaning products
• grass clippings • litter
• septic systems

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Point and Nonpoint Sources
NONPOINT SOURCES

Rural
homes

Urban Croplan
streets d
Animal
feedlot

Suburban POINT
development SOURCES Factor
y
Wastewater
treatment
plant

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Point Source or Nonpoint Source?

_____ Source

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Point Source or Nonpoint Source?

__________
Source

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Point Source or Nonpoint Source?
⚫A factory dumping extremely hot water
into a river?

_____ Source
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Point Source or Nonpoint Source?
⚫Oil dripping from cars on a road and
flowing into the storm drain.

______ Source
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Water Quality
Today

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 Water Pollution from
Agriculture
o Agriculture is leading source of water
pollution in agricultural countries.
• Animal wastes and plants residues have
high BOD
• Chemical pesticides can leach into
groundwater
o Almost all streams and rivers are
polluted with agricultural pesticides
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Municipal Water Pollution

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 Industrial Wastes in
Water
o Different industries generate different
pollutants
• Food processing plants- high BOD
• Paper mills- High BOD and toxic
compounds
o Many industries recover toxins
before they go into the waste stream
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Groundwater Pollution

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 Water Pollution in Other Countries
o Ganges River, India
• Used for bathing and
washing clothing
• Sewage and industrial
waste discharged into
river
• Ganga Action Plan
initiated by
government
• Construction of 29
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sewage treatment plants
India’s Ganges River: Religion,
Poverty, and Health
o Daily, more than 1
million Hindus in
India bathe, drink
from, or carry out
religious ceremonies
in the highly polluted
Ganges River.

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 o Water in many of
central China's
rivers are greenish
black from
uncontrolled
pollution by
thousands of
factories.
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 EXISTING WATER RESOURCES
⮚ Inland Freshwater

❖ Rivers
▪ 18 major river basins (at least 1,400 sq km drainage area)
▪ 421 principal rivers (less than 1,400 sq km drainage area)
▪ 296 principal rivers classified as of 2013 (70%)

❖ Lakes
▪ 79 natural lakes
▪ 10 lakes are major host for aquaculture production

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⮚Groundwater
•Extensive reservoir with an aggregate area
of about 50,000 sq km
•Recharged by rain and seepage from rivers
and lakes
•Favorable groundwater basins are underlaid
by about 100,000 sq km of various rock
formations

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⮚Marine Waters
•Cover an area of about 266,000 sq km,
including bays and gulfs
•Coastline stretches to about 17,460 km
•Coral reefs cover an area of about
27,000 sq km
•64 of 79 provinces are in coastal areas

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MAJOR RIVER BASINS

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MAJOR LAKES

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Sources of Pollution - National

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 RELEVANT LEGISLATIONS AND
POLICIES

o Republic Act No. 9275 or the Philippine Clean

Water Act of 2004

“Policy of the State to protect, preserve and revive the

quality of fresh, brackish and marine water”

“DENR as the primary agency in the implementation of

RA 9275”

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 OBJECTIVES OF WATER QUALITY
MONITORING IN THE PHILIPPINES
-To protect the environment and human health from the
effects of low water quality;
-To establish baseline data and provide the latest/updated
information on the quality of bathing beaches;
-To check if water quality of water bodies meet the officially
promulgated water quality objectives and criteria; and
-To initiate corrective and other actions to improve water
quality.

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Water Classification and Usage of
Fresh Surface Waters

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Water Classification and Usage of
Coastal and Marine Waters

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Freshwater Body Classification
by Region

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 REGULAR WATER
QUALITY MONITORING

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 SAGIP ILOG PROGRAM
▪Linking with LGUs, NGOs and other interest
groups

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 ADOPT-AN-ESTERO/WATER BODY
PROGRAM
The Linis Estero Program is a collaborative undertaking
between and among the Estero Community, Donor-Partner,
Local Government Unit/s and the DENR.
•Goal: To achieve a cleaner, safer and healthier metropolitan
environment.
•No. Of MOAs signed : 304 (As of 31 Dec. 2013)
•No. Of water bodies adopted: 542 (As of 31 Dec. 2013)

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Clean-up of Clogged Creek and
Esteros

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Part of the Diliman Creek along EDSA,
Quezon City

BEFORE (December 2010) AFTER (August

2011)

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 BEACH ECOWATCH PROGRAM
Monitoring of DOT’s frequently visited beaches by
local and foreign tourists

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COMPLIANCE MONITORING OF COMMERCIAL AND
INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS

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 INDUSTRIAL ECOWATCH
PROGRAM
A public disclosure program where the
industrial and commercial
establishments/firms will be rated with
corresponding color in accordance with their
environmental performance

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o EMB Region 4-A, cited a distillery plant in Lian,
Batangas that uses the Reed System in their
waste water treatment system.
o This system entails the use of the nodes or
nodules of bamboo roots to cleanse the
wastewater.
o EMB in Region 11 has cited a beverage
manufacturing company, an industry in their
locality that practices “waste to energy
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EMB Region 12 mentioned the use of vetiver
grass as erosion control measure being
adopted by the National Irrigation
Administration, under the Water Resources
Development Project.

--- Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizaniodes) is an

erosion control method used for erosion-prone
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oThe program in Region 12 was
implemented in Silway-Buayan,
Pasada, and Banga River Irrigation
Systems, where the use of vetiver
grass was found to be effective in
controlling erosion and in addressing
sedimentation problems in catchment
areas, canal embankments and also
in critical slopes in the said region.
oIn terms of water quality, it has
contributed in reducing sediments
and total suspended solids in water.

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