I.

FACTS ABOUT water

Water
pollution in the Philippines.
Primarily in agricultural in
shortage/pollution
and industrial sectors.

the Philippines

II. Major factors that

contributed to serious
water shortage.
III. Efforts to prevent water
shortage /pollution.

I. FACTS, ARTICLES, studies, etc ABOUT water pollution

in the Philippines.

Gathered Facts about water

pollution/problems
Much of the surface water in urban areas is a
public health risk while rural surface waters are
also sources of disease. The World Bank
estimates that exposure to water pollution and
poor sanitation account for one-sixth of reported
disease cases, and nearly 6,000 premature
deaths per year. The cost of treatment and lost
income from illness and death due to water
pollution is pegged at PHP6.7 billion (US$134
million) per year (PEM 2006).

Effects of untreated wastewater discharges

gastro-enteritis
diarrhea
Cholera

dysentery,
Hepatitis
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

Water pollution In Agricultural sector

In the agriculture
agrochemicals
(i.e.
pesticides).

sector, application of
fertilizers,
herbicides,

Practice of farmers of washing their sprayers near,

or in, irrigation canals, which may then become part
of agricultural runoff. They also use this water
source for washing of hands and feet, clothes, and
to some extent, for taking a bath.

 The long-term use of pesticides to control

pests and diseases, especially in rice
production, may actually contribute to the
contamination of soil and groundwater with
their residues.

INDUSTRIAL WASTE (news)

Contamination from industrial sources is also a
common source of diseases caused by toxic
substances.
This
includes
heavy
metal
contamination from mining activities, which leads to
elevated levels of mercury causing gingivitis, skin
discoloration, neurological disorders, and anemia.
Water contamination from electronic manufacturing,
for
example
from
chemicals
such
as
trichloroethylene such as recorded in an incident
in Las Pias City in 2007, lead to dizziness and
headaches as well as cancer .

Industrial water and water pollution

Industry is a huge source of water pollution, it
produces pollutants that are extremely harmful to
people and the environment.
Many industrial facilities use freshwater to carry
away waste from the plant and into rivers, lakes and
oceans.

Marine dumping
Dumping of litter in the sea can cause huge problems.
Different items take different lengths of time to degrade in
water:
Cardboard Takes 2 weeks to degrade.
Newspaper Takes 6 weeks to degrade.
Photodegradable packaging Takes 6 weeks
to degrade.
Foam Takes 50 years to degrade.
Styrofoam Takes 80 years to degrade.
Aluminium Takes 200 years to degrade.
Plastic packaging Takes 400 years to degrade.
Glass It takes so long to degrade that we dont know
the exact time.

Underground storage leakages

Steel pipes that are directly exposed to the
environment, over time the steel corrodes and
causes leakages, affecting surrounding soil and
groundwater.

II. REASONS OF WATER

SHORTAGE

1. Disparities between water

supply and demand
Despite the abundant water resources in the
Philippines, distribution of these resources
varies widely in time and place as a result of
the different geographic and climate conditions
prevailing in different parts of the country
(Barba, P, 2003).
Water resources are unevenly distributed
throughout the country, often resulting in water
shortages in highly populated areas, especially
during the dry season. Several river basins
(Pampanga, Agno, Pasig-Laguna, and on the

2.
Lack
of
allocation formula

water

Most of the problems encountered in

the water sector today arise from an
issue of conflicts of use and water
allocation.
With
the
increase
of
population coupled with worsening
pollution of water, lack of infrastructure
and facilities result in allocation issues
and conflicting rights over limited water
supply. The principle in the Water Code
of "first in time priority in right" may no

3. Corporations also directly

compete with the people for the
control and use of available
freshwater resources
For instance, Benguet Corporation, a U.S.
mining firm which is now venturing into the
water business, holds 65 water appropriation
permits issued by the NWRB. The permits
cover major creeks, springs, and rivers in the
municipality of Itogon in Benguet province that
communities use for their domestic and
agricultural needs. In San Pablo City, Laguna,
farmers and residents complain of declining

4. Weak water use

regulation and
enforcement
The
investigation
and
processing of water permit
applications constitute the
type functions for which
NWRB
is
not
properly
equipped in terms of either

5. Inefficient water use

There is tremendous waste of water in
distribution lines, irrigation canals, and at
homes. Inefficiency in water usage was
exacerbated by the absence of regulations,
economic
incentives,
and
institutional
arrangements needed to promote water
conservation and rational use of water.
Apart from increasing industrial and domestic
demand, another contributing factor to the
water shortage in Metro Manila is the high level
of water loss due to leaking pipes and illegal
connections.

6. Depletion of
groundwater resources
Indiscriminate groundwater abstraction
resulting to salt-intrusion are noticeable
in Metro Manila and Cavite (Region IV),
Iloilo (Region VI), and Cebu (Region VII).
The indiscriminate use of groundwater
wells for residential and industrial areas
due to the failure of major utility
providers to service these areas is the
major cause for the depletion of the
groundwater resources in the country.

7. Fragmented
management
One of the most critical issues confronting the
Philippine water sector is the lack of an
appropriate institutional framework to address
issues of development and management of
water and related resources. At present, there
are over 30 government agencies and
departments separately dealing with water
supply, irrigation, hydropower, flood control,
pollution, watershed management, etc. It is this
fragmented approach to water management
which causes an overlap of work and conflicts

Efforts addressed

Republic Act No. 6716, the law that provides for the construction
of water wells, rainwater collectors, development of springs and
rehabilitation of existing water wells in all of the countrys
barangays.
The law, designed to save rainwater during the rainy season in
catchments or sumps, was passed in 1989 and has never been
implemented, according to Oposa.
The water shortage and rationing that we are again going through
has been coming for a long time. We are being flooded during the
rainy season, yet we are undergoing severe water shortage. And all
because we forgot, or simply neglected to implement, a simple law
that requires the construction of rainwater catchment/collectors in
every barangay,?.

Desalinization technology This system is described as filtering salty water through

membranes and removing the salt through electrodialysis
and reverse osmosis.
Nations in North Africa and Middle East are currently
producing six billion gallons of usable water a day
(Arrandale, 2002).
Recently, however, the desalinization process has
become much more practical for metropolitan areas and
reverse-osmosis systems have made.

Technological solutions
First there is drip irrigation for irrigation.
Second, treating of waste water so it could be drunk
several times over is a way to conserve water.
Then there is Desalination, which isnt new
technology but has actually been around for years. It
is the same technology used in US Aircraft carriers to
provide water for the crew (because it could work in
tandem with a nuclear reactor).

 Fixing of leaking pipes

In 2010, Maynilad fixed more
than 40,000 leaks and
consequently recovered over
200 million liters of water per
day.

One solution is to develop and mandate more

efficient household water usage.
Introduction of pollution prevention
and waste minimization practices.
Triple R Principle - Reuse, Recycle, and
Reduce.

Reported by : Jethro
Villaruel LAW 2-A