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Water Matters (Two Billion People are Dying for It!) Come June 5, the Philippines and the rest of the world will be celebrating the World Environment Day (WED) once again. A global event held annually, the World Environment Day is one of the principal vehicles of the United Nations to stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and action. For this year’s celebration of WED, water is getting the center stage, under the theme, “Water … Two Billion People are Dying for It!” No doubt, the theme is drawn to complement the declaration of 2003 as the “International Year of Freshwater” and the “World Water Day” which is celebrated every year on March 22. But, one may ask, why water? Why the global interest? For some of us who are lucky enough to live in areas with readily available water supply, there is not much to worry about except the monthly bills. But in areas where the water supply is scarce or where the water is not fit for human consumption, the problem turns into a crisis, especially if public health is already at risk. And this is so, right now, in some parts of the globe. Thus, unless all governments of the world unite to address the water crisis today, there is a slim chance this will ever be resolved in the future as the demand for water increases three times as fast as the world’s population rate. The Global Call Interest on water as a world resource to conserve and develop started gaining grounds in 1987 when the Brundtland Commission, in its report, Our Common Future, introduced the concept of sustainable development to the world and identified water as a key issue among global environmental concerns. This was followed by Water and Environment Conference held in Dublin, Ireland in 1992 where discussions of water and environmental issues were reportedly extensive. Then, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the importance of securing freshwater resources was underscored. The latest international gathering of world experts on water-related fields is the 3rd World Water Forum conducted on March 2003 in the neighboring Japanese cities of Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka. It was during this forum that statistics on the world’s water situation and issues were gathered, to cite: - 1.4 billion
people do not have access to safe water. Looking at the above statistics, one wonders where has the world’s water gone. As written in the books, 70% of the earth is composed of water. But, unfortunately, of this volume, only 2.5% is freshwater; the rest is saltwater. Three-quarters of this freshwater is trapped in the form of ice and snow, and the measly one-fourth is what we use in our industries, agriculture, households, etc. But, what
aggravates the water situation now is that through the years, the quality
of the world’s water has increasingly deteriorated as a consequence
of modernization, uncontrolled population growth and urbanization. It
is not hyperbolic to say that garbage, industrial and human wastes have
actually replaced the fishes and other aquatic life as “residents”
of lakes, rivers, streams and other water bodies. Water Quality Management in the Philippines In her Earth Day message on April 22, 2003, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo revealed that almost 10 million Filipinos are yet to have a sustainable source of potable drinking water and 13 million do not have access to any sanitation facilities. Further, of the country’s total water demand, only 72% is being met. For this reason, she called on the citizenry to use wisely and conserve the country’s water resource, and at the same time, emphasized the need to take care of the forests. President
Arroyo said, “we need to take care of the very source of our water
resources - - our forests that act as watersheds.” She also admonished
the public not to throw rubbish into rivers, even as she encouraged them
to plant more trees, for forests also serve as natural filters. Based on EMB reports, the major sources of water pollution in the country are industries, households, commercial establishments, tourism sites and farms. Industries, considered a major source of water pollutants, use a wide range of chemicals and chemical substances, many of which are highly toxic. These toxic substances find their way to our natural water systems when discharged as industrial effluents. Others are emitted in the atmosphere, where they mix with rain or settle down by themselves and are carried by runoff to natural water channels. The wastewater from households, commercial establishments and tourism sites are generally similar in nature (they contain soap, detergent and black water from septic tanks, etc) but differ in volume. The primary contribution of farms to water pollution is the runoff of agricultural chemicals, which include synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. On the classification of water bodies, the EMB has reportedly classified 379 rivers, lakes and bays in the country. Unfortunately, however, out of the total, only three remained in Class AA, the cleanest category; 153 were Class A; 65 were Class B, 118 were Class C and 15 were Class D; two were Class SA; nine were Class SB; 11 were Class SC and three were Class SD. This means that water in Class AA becomes potable through simple disinfection procedure. Water from Class A rivers, on the other hand, requires complete treatment involving coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection to make it safe for drinking. Water in Class B, C and D rivers cannot be used at all for household purposes. Specifically, Class B rivers are primarily classified for contact recreation like bathing, swimming, skin diving, etc. Class C waters, also called fishery waters, are intended for the propagation and growth of fish and other aquatic resources, while Class D waters are for agriculture, irrigation, livestock watering, etc. Bathing, washing and other forms of activities that involve skin contact are no-no in Class C and D rivers. Class SA waters are classified as coral reef parks and reserves. These are suitable for the commercial propagation of shellfish. Class SB waters are considered tourist zones, thus, their use is primarily for recreational activities such as bathing, swimming, skin diving, etc. Class SC waters are for commercial and sustenance fishing and Class SD, for industrial purposes like cooling. For further inquiries, please contact: The Water
Quality Management Section www.emb.gov.ph
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