Module 6: Water Quality Management

Water Quality Management in the Philippines

• The Philippines has 421 river basins and 18 major river basins.
• The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 aims to protect the country's water bodies from pollution from land-based sources.
• The DENR is the lead agency mandated by the Clean Water Act to implement the law, develop policies, and guidelines.

Water Quality Standards

• Fresh surface water is classified into 5 classes:
  • Class AA: Public Water Supply Class I
  • Class A: Public Water Supply Class II
  • Class B: Recreational Water Class I
  • Class C: Fishery Water, Recreational Water Class II, Industrial Water Supply Class I
  • Class D: Industrial Water Supply Class II
• Coastal and marine water is classified into 4 classes:
  • Class SA: Reserves under Presidential Proclamation No. 1801
  • Class SB: Recreational Water Class I, Fishery Water Class I (spawning areas for chanos or bangus)
  • Class SC: Recreational Water Class II, Fishery Water Class II
  • Class SD: Industrial Water Supply Class II

Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water

• Potable water is water that can be consumed in any measured amount without concern for adverse health effects.
• Groundwater sources:
  • Pumped from wells drilled into aquifers
  • Quantity and quality depend on the type of geological formation
  • Constant composition, low turbidity, high hardness, no dissolved oxygen, no color, high mineral content
• Surface water sources:
  • Rivers, lakes, and reservoirs
  • Varying composition, high turbidity, low hardness, dissolved oxygen, tastes and odors, color, low mineral content

Water Treatment Systems

• Purpose: to bring raw water up to drinking water quality
• Surface water treatment systems:
  • Screening and grit removal
  • Primary sedimentation (settling or clarification)
  • Rapid mixing and coagulation
  • Flocculation
  • Secondary sedimentation (settling)

Municipal Solid Waste Management

• Sources of municipal solid waste:
  • Residential (57.6%)
  • Commercial (27.1%)
  • Institutional (12.1%)
  • Industrial sources (4.1%)
• Composition of municipal solid waste:
  • Biodegradable wastes (52.31%): kitchen or food waste, compostable waste (86.2% from food scraps, 13.8% from leaves and twigs)
  • Recyclable wastes (27.78%): plastic packaging materials (38%), paper and cardboard waste (31%), metals, glass, textile, leather, and rubber (31%)
  • Special wastes (1.93%): household healthcare waste, waste electrical and electronic equipment, bulky waste, and other hazardous waste
  • Residuals (17.98%): disposable waste and inert materials

Waste Collection Techniques

• Door-to-door collection: waste materials are collected in every house within a target area to recover recyclables and biodegradables
• Block or communal collection: MRFs in barangays that are within or near the targeted collection area

Treatment and Disposal

• Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) establishment in every barangay or cluster of barangays
• Composting: meet the mandatory waste diversion requirements, done in compost pits, tire towers, coconut shell stack, bottomless bins, clay pots, and plastic sacks
• Recycling: component of an MRF or established as a stand-alone processing facility
• Disposal: refers to the discharge, deposit, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid waste into or on any land
• Disposal sites:
  • Dumpsites: raw, open spaces designated as local disposal areas without engineering measures and pollution control systems
  • Sanitary Landfills (SLFs): waste disposal facilities with impermeable liners to prevent liquid discharges from polluting ground and surface waters