WATER POLLUTION

CONTENTS
I. IMPORTANCE OF CLEAN WATER

II. WATER POLLUTION

• Sources of Water Pollution

• Effects of Water Pollution
• Control Measures of Water Pollution

III. THE PHILIPPINES CLEAN WATER ACT

IMPORTANCE
OF CLEAN WATER
Water is a fundamental human need. Each person on Earth requires at least 20 to 50 litters
of clean, safe water a day to drinking, cooking and simply keeping themselves clean.They say
you can live for three weeks without food, but only three days without water. Most people
assume that water is just water. They know it is essential that they drink it, but they aren’t
really aware of the nutritional value it has.

Polluted water isn’t just dirty, it’s deadly. Some 1.8 million
people die every year of diarrheal diseases like cholera. Tens of
millions of others are seriously sickened by a host of water-
related ailments many of which are preventable. The United
Nations considers universal access to clean water a basic human
right,and an essential step towards improving living standards
worldwide. Water-poor communities are typically economically
poor as well, thier residents trapped in an ongoing cycle of poverty.
WATER
POLLUTION
Water Pollution is the contamination of water bodies,
usually as a result of human activities. Water bodies include
for example lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater.
Water pollution results when contaminants are introduced into
the natural environment.
Sources of Water Pollution
Point source
Point sources of pollution are those which have direct
identifiable source. Example includes pipe attached to
a factory, oil spill from a tanker and effluents coming
out from industries.

Non - Point source

Nonpoint source pollution is caused by rainfall or snow
melt moving over and through the ground, picking up
natural and man-made pollutants.
Examples are runoff from agricultural fields, urban waste.
Organic Water Pollutants
They comprise of insecticides and herbicides, organic
halides and other forms of chemicals; bacteria from
sewage and live stocks farming; food processing
wastes; pathogens; volatile organic compounds

In-Organic Water Pollutants

They may arise from heavy metals from acid mine
drainage; silt from surface run-off, logging, slash and
burning practices and land filling; fertilizers from
agricultural run-off which include nitrates and phosphates
etc. and chemical waste from industrial effluents.
Sewage and other Oxygen
Demanding Wastes
Together, sewage and fertilizers can cause a massive
increase in the growth of algae or plankton that facilitate
huge areas of oceans, lakes, or rivers creating a condition
known as algal bloom thereby reducing the dissolved
oxygen content of water and killing other forms of life like
fish.

Industrial Wastes
Chemical industries concerning with manufacture of
Aluminium and such release large amount of fluoride
through their emissions to air and effluents to water bodies.
Fertilizer industries generate huge amount of ammonia
whereas steel plants generate cyanide. All such discharges
finally arrive at water bodies in the form of effluents
affecting human health and the organism living there.
Agro-chemical Wastes
Improper disposal of pesticides from field farms and
agricultural activities contributes a lot of pollutants to
water bodies and soils. Pesticides reach water bodies
through surface runoff from agricultural fields, drifting
from spraying, washing down of precipitation and direct
dusting and spraying of pesticides in low lying areas
polluting the water quality.

Nutrient enrichment
Contribution to pollution by natural source is low due
to balance established by the natural system between the
production and consumption of nutrients over the course of
time. Nutrient concentrations in streams and rivers have
been strongly correlated with human land use and
disturbance gradients.
Oil spillage
Oil discharge into the surface of sea by way of accident or
leakage from cargo tankers carrying petrol, diesel and
their derivatives pollute sea water to a great extent.
Exploration of oil from offshore also lead to oil pollution in
water. The residual oil spreads over the water surface
forming a thin layer of water-in-oil emulsion.

Acid rain pollution

Water pollution that alters a plant’s surrounding pH level,
such as due to acid rain, can harm or kill the plant.
Atmospheric Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emitted
from natural and human-made sources like volcanic
activity and burning fossil fuels\interact with atmospheric
chemicals, including hydrogen and oxygen, to form sulfuric
and nitric acids in the air. Acid rain that collects in aquatic
environments lowers water pH levels and affects the
aquatic biota.
Effects of Water Pollution
Death of Aquatic Animals
The main problem caused by water pollution is that it kills
organisms that depend on these water bodies. Dead fish,
crabs, birds and sea gulls, dolphins, and many other
animals often wind up on beaches, killed by pollutants in
their habitat (living environment).

Disruption of Food Chain

Pollution disrupts the natural food chain as well. Pollutants
such as lead and cadmium are eaten by tiny animals. Later,
these animals are consumed by fish and shellfish, and the
food chain continues to be disrupted at all higher levels.
Diseases
Eventually, humans are affected by this process as well.
People can get diseases such as hepatitis by eating
seafood that has been poisoned. In many poor nations,
there is always outbreak of cholera and diseases as a
result of poor drinking water treatment from contaminated
waters.

Destruction of Ecosystem
Ecosystems (the interaction of living things in a place,
depending on each other for life) can be severely changed
or destroyed by water pollution. Many areas are now being
affected by careless human pollution, and this pollution is
coming back to hurt humans in many ways.
Control Measures of
Water Pollution
Waste water from domestic sources is hardly treated, due
to inadequate sanitation facilities. This waste water,
containing highly organic pollutant load, finds its way
into surface and groundwater courses near the vicinity
of human habitation from where further water is drawn for
use. Considerable investments should be done to install
the treatment systems.

The enforcement of regulations regarding discharge of

industrial wastewater and limits to extraction of
groundwater needs to be considerably strengthened, while
more incentives are required for promoting waste water
reuse and recycling.
3.There should be ban on washing of clothes and laundry
alongside the river bank.

4.Improper use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides in

farming should be stopped and organic methods of farming
should be adopted. Cropping practices in riparian zone
should be banned to protect the riparian vegetation
growing there.
5.Rain water harvesting should be practiced to prevent the
depletion of water table.

6.Making people aware of the problem is the first step to

prevent water pollution. Hence, importance of water and
pollution prevention measures should be a part of
awareness and education program.
The Philippine Clean
Water Act
 Importance of Clean Water Act
As early as 1996, monitoring of the country’s rivers
showed that only 51% of the classified rivers still met
the standards for their most beneficial use. The rest
were already polluted from domestic, industrial and
agricultural sources. Most studies point to the fact that
domestic wastewater is the principal cause of organic
pollution (at 48%) of our water bodies.
 The Philippine Clean Water Act
The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (Republic Act No. 9275)
aims to protect the country’s water bodies from pollution from
land-based sources (industries and commercial establishments,
agriculture and community/household activities). It provides for a
comprehensive and integrated strategy to prevent and minimize
pollution through a multi-sectoral and participatory approach
involving all the stakeholders.
Water Quality Management
Management of water quality will either be based on watershed, river
basin or water resources region. Water quality management areas with
similar hydrological, hydrogeological, meteorological or geographic
conditions which affect the reaction and diffusion of pollutants in water
bodies are to be designated by the DENR in coordination with the
National Water Resources Board (NWRB).

How will discharges of waste water be controlled?

All owners or operators of facilities that discharge wastewater are
required to get a permit to discharge from the DENR or the Laguna Lake
Development Authority. Existing industries without any permit are given
12 months from the effectivity of the implementing rules and regulations
(IRR) promulgated pursuant to this Act to secure a permit to discharge.
Prohibited Acts under R.A. 9275
1. Discharging or depositing any water pollutant to the water body, or
such which will impede natural flow in the water body.

2. Discharging, injecting or allowing to enter into the soil, anything that

would pollute groundwater.

3. Operating facilities that discharge regulated water pollutants without

the valid required permits.

4. Disposal of potentially infectious medical waste into sea by vessels.

5. Unauthorized transport or dumping into waters of sewage sludge or

solid waste.
Prohibited Acts under R.A. 9275
6. Transport, dumping or discharge of prohibited chemicals, substances
or pollutants listed under Toxic Chemicals, Hazardous and Nuclear.

7. Wastes Control Act (Republic. Act No. 6969). An act to control toxic
substances and hazardous and nuclear wastes, providing penalties for
violations thereof, and for other purposes

8. Discharging regulated water pollutants without the valid required

discharge permit pursuant to this Act.

9. Noncompliance of the LGU with the Water Quality Framework and

Management Area Action Plan.

10.Refusal to allow entry, inspection and monitoring as well as access to

reports and records by the DENR in accordance with this Act
Prohibited Acts under R.A. 9275
11.Refusal or failure to submit reports and/or designate pollution control
officers whenever required by the DENR in accordance with this Act.

12.Directly using booster pumps in the distribution system or tampering

with the water supply in such a way to alter or impair the water quality.

13 .Operate facilities that discharge or allow to seep, willfully or through

grave negligence, prohibited chemicals, substances, or pollutants listed
under R.A. No. 6969, into water bodies.

14. Undertake activities or development and expansion of projects, or

operating wastewater treatment/sewerage facilities in violation of
P.D.1586 and its IRR.
Fines and Penalties imposed on Polluters

1.Upon the recommendation of the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB),

anyone who commits prohibited acts such as discharging untreated
wastewater into any water body will be fined for every day of violation,
the amount of not less than Php 10,000 but not more than Php 200,000.
Fines and Penalties imposed on Polluters

2. Failure to undertake clean-up operations willfully shall be punished by

imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than four years.
This also includes a fine of not less than Php 50,000 and not more than
Php 100,000 per day of violation. Failure or refusal to clean up which
results in serious injury or loss of life or lead to irreversible water
contamination of surface, ground, coastal and marine water shall be
punished with imprisonment of not less than 6 years and 1 day and not
more than 12 years and a fine of Php 500,000/day for each day the
contamination or omission continues. In cases of gross violation, a fine
of not less than Php 500,000 but not more than Php 3,000,000 will be
imposed for each day of violation. Criminal charges may also be filed.