Updates on Water Environment Management in the Philippines

Vicente B. Tuddao, Jr., Ph.D.Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Erlinda GonzalesEnvironmental Management Bureau

Outline of Presentation

• Background• Modification of Old Regulation (DENR* Administrative

Order1990-35)• Repeal of Old DENR* Administrative Order 1990-34• Status of Implementation of those New Standards• Status of effluent emission load from municipal waste

water in Metro Manila• Status of coordination with the plans to develop waste

water treatment system• Issues and challenges of the water environment

legislation*DENR- Department of Environment and Natural Resources

18 Major River Basins in the Philippines421 Principal River Basins,72 lakes and extensive Groundwater  aquifers

Philippine Archipelago

Status of Effluent Emission Load from Municipal WasteWater

Water Pollution Sources in Metro Manila

Modification of DENR Administrative Order 1990-35 and Repealing of DENR Administrative Order 1990-34

Department Administrative Order 2016-08-WQG (WaterQuality Guidelines) and General Effluent Standards (GES)was approved on May 24, 2016 and took effect on June 15,2016

The old Rules and Regulations of the National PollutionControl Commission (1978), 1982 Effluent Regulations andthe DENR Administrative Order 1990–34 were repealed,while DENR Administrative Order 1990–35 was modifiedaccordingly.

DAO No.1990-35 (Old Regulation) and DAO 2016-08 (New Regulation)

Parameter DAO No. 1990-35 (forclass C)(Old)

DAO 2016 – 08 (for class C)

(New)

BOD 50 mg/L 50 mg/LCOD 100 mg/L 100 mg/LTSS 70 mg/L 100 mg/L

Oil and grease 5 mg/L 5 mg/L

Color 150 NTU 150 NTU

Total Coliform 10.000 MPN/100mL 10.000 MPN/100mL

Fecal Coliform None 400 MPN/100mL

Ammonia as NHɜ - N None 0.5 mg/L

Nitrate as NOɜ - N None 14 mg/L

Phosphate None 1 mg/L

Surfactants (MBAS) 7 mg/L 15 mg/L

Water Quality Guidelines and Effluent Standards and its

Implementation in the Philippines

DENR Administrative Order (DAO)2016‐08

Modification of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Clean Water Act of the Philippines

General Effluent Standards and  Water Quality Guidelines

Section 1. Basic Policy

The Basic Policy – IT is the policy of the state topursue a policy of economic growth in a mannerconsistent with the protection, preservation andrevival of the quality of fresh, brackish and marinewaters.

Section 3. Scope and Coverage of the WQG and GES

Water Quality Guidelines (WQG)

• The WQG applies to all water bodies in the country(freshwaters, marine waters, and ground water)

• Shall be used for classifying water bodies• Shall be used for determining trends• Evaluation of stages of deterioration or enhancement in

water quality• used as basis for taking positive actions in preventing,

controlling or abating water pollution• Shall be used in the Designation of Water Quality

Management Area (WQMA)

Section 3 ‐ Scope and Coverage ofthe GES• GES applies to all point sources of pollution, regardless of

volume, that discharge to receiving body of water or landand be used regardless of the industry category.

• However, Effluent used for irrigation and agriculturalpurposes shall conform to the guideline set by theDepartment of Agriculture for the safe re – use ofwastewater for the purposes of irrigation and otheragricultural Uses.

• The GES established the Significant Effluent QualityParameters per sector (industries shall only berequired to monitor effluent quality parametersdetermined significant to them) for the purpose ofstreamlining compliance and enforcement of the GES.

• In consideration for establishments with influent BODgreater than or equal to 3000 mg/l, separate effluentstandards were set but applicable only forestablishments discharging to Class S, Class D, ClassSC and Class SD water bodies.

General Effluent Standards (GES)Coverage and Scope 

Water Body Classification and Usage of Freshwater

Classification Intended Beneficial use

Class AA Public Water Supply Class I. Intended primarily for waters having watersheds, whichare uninhabited and/or otherwise declared as protected areas, and which require onlyapproved disinfection to meet the latest PNSDW

Class A Public Water Supply Class II. Intended as sources of water supply requiringconventional treatment (coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection) inorder to meet the PNSDW.

Class B Recreational water Class I. Intended for primary contact recreation(bathing, swimming, etc.)

Class C 1) Fishery water for the propagation and growth of fish and other aquatic resources;2) Recreational Water Class II‐ For boating, fishing or similar activities3) For agriculture, irrigation, and livestock watering

Class D Navigable Waters (Waters of the Philippines, including the territorialarea and inland waters suitable for water transport)

Section 5- Classification of Water Bodies. For purposes of maintaining waterquality according to its intended beneficial usage, the followingclassification of water bodies shall be adopted

Water body Classification and Usage of Marine Waters

Classification Intended Beneficial useClass SA 1) Protected Waters – Waters designated as national or local

marine parks, reserves, sanctuaries, and other areasestablished by law (presidential Proclamation 1801 andother existing laws) and/or declared as such by appropriategovernment agency, LGUs, etc.2) Fishery Water Class I – Suitable for shellfish harvesting fordirect human consumption.

Class SB 1) Fishery Water Class II – Water suitable for commercialpropagation of shellfish and intended as spawning areas formilkfish (Chanos chanos) and similar species2) Tourism Zones – For ecotourism and recreational activities3) Recreational Water Class I – Intended for primary contactrecreation (bathing, swimming, skin diving, etc)

Continuation:

Classification Intended Beneficial use

Class SC 1) Fishery Water Class III ‐ For the propagation andgrowth of fish and other aquatic resources andintended for Commercial and sustenance fishing2) Recreational water Class II‐ For boating. Fishing,or similar activities3) Marshy and /or mangrove areas declared as fishand wildlife sanctuaries

Class SD Navigable Waters (Waters of the Philippines,including the territorial area and inlandwaters suitable for water transport)

Water Quality Guidelines. This Rules and Regulations was established to maintainand preserve the quality of all bodies of water based on their intended beneficialusage to prevent and abate pollution to protect public health, aquatic resourcesand other living organisms.

Water Quality Guidelines for Secondary Parameters

Water Quality Guidelines for Secondary Parameters

Section 7 ‐ General Effluent Standards Discharges from any point source shall at alltimes meet the effluent standards based on their intended beneficial usage.

Effluent Standards 

Effluent Standards

Modification of WQG and GES

• Modification can be requested as long as a clear andscientifically valid evidence to demonstrate that suchmodification is consistent with RA 9275 andImplementing Rules and Regulations.

• WQG value of a water segment shall not result in amodification of the designated use of the water segment.Significant Effluent Water Quality Parameters per Sectorand GES Values

Grace Period

• Consistent with the Clean Water Act, a grace period of notmore than five (5) years is provided in cases wherein:

1. Values for GES have become stringent compared to thevalues in DAO 1990 – 35 (the amended effluentstandards). In such cases DAO 1990 – 35 shall applyduring the grace period.

2. Grace period can only be given to establishments thatsubmit Compliance Action Plan and periodic status ofimplementation to the DENR on the steps taken for theestablishments compliance schedule within theprescribed grace period.

Fines, Damages and Penalties

1. Fines of 10,000 to 200,000 Philippine Peso for everyday of violation; upon PAB recommendation (rates tobe increased 10% every 2 years);

2. Closure, suspension of development or construction orcessation of operations, upon PAB recommendation;

3. 2 to 4 yr imprisonment for failure to clean up & 50,000to 100,000 for every day of violation;

Updates on the implementation of Clean Water Act(Republic Act No. 9275) and its implementing rulesand regulations (DAO 1990 -34 and DAO 1990 -35)

• Classification of water bodies• Water quality Monitoring and assessment to determine

trends and stages of deterioration of water quality• Industrial/Commercial compliance monitoring• Issuance of Discharge Permit• Issuance of Notice of Violations and CDO to facilities found in

violation of RA 9275• Designation of Water quality management area

Classification of Water Bodies

Region Principal River

Other Rivers Marine Waters

Lakes Total

1 14 10 1 0 25

2 26 23 0 0 49

3 16 43 4 0 63

4A 26 29 1 2 58

4B 30 25 16 1 72

5 29 23 7 4 63

6 31 25 15 0 71

7 19 14 10 0 43

8 23 27 9 1 60

9 17 27 3 0 47

10 12 29 1 1 43

11 17 15 4 0 36

12 14 26 6 2 48

CAR 11 28 0 1 40

CARAGA 19 11 6 1 37

NCR 2 3 1 0 6

Total 306 358 84 13 761

Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment

From 2006 to present the Environmental ManagementBureau monitored 164 water bodies, comprisingprincipal rivers, minor rivers, lakes and marine watersbased on the set beneficial use.

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring of BathingBeaches of Manila Bay

• Nineteen (19) bathing beaches inManila Bay were monitored for Totaland Fecal Coliform, DO, pH and TSS

• Out of the nineteen (19) stationsmonitored only two stations passedthe SB criteria of 1000 mpn/100 mlfor total coliform

• For fecal coliform, only one (1)station passed the criteria of 200mpn/100 ml

• Ten (10) stations passed the criteriaof 5 mg/L for DO while fourteen (14)stations for pH and ten (10) stationspassed the water quality criteria forTSS.

Figure 1. Bathing Beaches MonitoringStations

Water Quality MonitoringBaywide Monitoring

(Offshore)• Nine (9) stations baywide in

Manila Bay were monitored forDO, pH, Salinity, Temperature,Conductivity, Phosphate andHeavy Metals.

• A decreasing trend of DissolveOxygen (DO) from top tobottom was observed in allstations.

• Surface DO conformed with thecriteria of 5mg/L in all stationswhile only 8 stations conformedat mid – depth and only 1station passed the DO criteriaat the bottom.

• For TSS and Phosphate, all stations passed the criteria.

• High levels of pH ranging from8.94 to 9.56 were observed inthe bay.

Figure 2. Offshore Monitoring Stations

Water Quality Monitoring

River WaterQuality Monitoring

Selected river systems inthe Manila Bay Region(Region 4 – A, NCR andRegion 3) discharging intoManila Bay were monitoredto determine theircompliance with the waterquality criteria.

Figure 3. Map showing theselected river system draining intoManila Bay

Pasig River Unified Monitoring SystemFourteen (14) stations in Pasig riverwere monitored for DO and BOD.

Out of the 14 stations monitoredonly one (1) stations passed theDO criteria of 5 mg/L for Class Cwaters.

All stations failed the BOD criteriaof 7 mg/L .

Figure 4. Pasig River UnifiedMonitoring System

INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS MONITORING (Manila Bay Region)

RegionsUniverse / Baseline9,600

Total number establishment

monitored

Total number of establishment with discharge permit

% Establishments Monitored in

Compliance with the Effluent Standards

NCR 3,800 3354 1372 40.9%

R3 3,800 3041 1517 49.88%

R4A 2,000 2394 1103 49.06%

Total 9,600 8791 3992 45.41%

Industrial/Commercial Establishments monitored in compliance with the effluent standards ( with Discharge Permit ) from 2011-2015

Designation of Water Quality Management Area

• As of 2016, EMB has designated 31 water quality management areaall over the country.

• Water quality Management Area is defined as an area designatedusing appropriate physiographic units (watershed, river basin orwater resources regions) sharing common interest or face similardevelopment programs, prospect or problems.

• Designation of WQMA empowered the local stakeholders to institutemeasures and identify programs to effectively manage the waterbodies in their respective area.

• Governing Board (GB) was created to develop strategies tocoordinate policies, regulations and local legislation necessary forthe effective implementation of the Clean Water Act

Adopt Estero / Water Bodies Program

• Adopt Esteros /Water Bodies is a collaborative program betweenand among the DENR, the community, Local Government Units,Donor Partners and other Government Agencies aim atinstitutionalizing public – private community partner inenvironmental and sanitation improvement.

• Donor Partners may be a business establishments, industryassociations, NGOs, Academe or any other groups that volunteers.

• Program activities includes river/estero clean-up, dredging of rivers,river bank stabilization, tree planting, IEC, Community development,etc.

Philippine Environmental Partnership Program (PEPP) 

• The PEPP , pursuant to DENR ADMINISTRATIVE Order 2003 – 14is a DENR Partnership Program with Industries, in cooperation withother environment – related agencies that aims to encourage andsupport establishments to adopt self-regulation for improvedenvironmental performance through the provision of regulatoryassistance and other incentives

INCENTIVES AND REWARDS SYSTEM

Program Categories Or Tracks under the Philippine Environmental Partnership Program (PEPP) 

There are 2 tracks or categories of Companies participatingin the PEPP. These are:

• Track 1 – Large Companies with proven or demonstratedsuperior environmental performance that go beyondcompliance and are driven by competitiveness, image, andsupply chain requirements to improve performance. ( i.e.,large companies)

• Track 2 – Companies that are currently unable to comply withregulations and are driven by survival needs (mostly smalland medium business enterprise).

Benefits of the Government from PEPP AWARDEES

• Provide technical assistance to the other industry partner, particularly in the preparationand implementation of the sectors Environmental Management Plan

• Assist the industry partner in raising awareness on environment concerns.

• Assist in the development of industry – specific effluent standards, if the need arises.

• Assist in developing a practicable technology that could be used by industry partners tocomply with prescribed effluent levels.

• Sharing of their best practices

Status of Coordination with the Plans to Develop Wastewater Treatment System

• The DENR as the lead agency in the implementation of the CleanWater Act and the Supreme Court Order to Clean Manila Bay, regularlycall meetings with concerned agencies for the successfulimplementation of the said Act and the Operational Plan for theManila bay Coastal Strategy specifically on pollution reduction issues

• The meetings / workshops discussed:• MWSS – Status of accomplishment in terms of sewerage and

sanitation management and the Road Map for completion of wastewater treatment facilities in Metro Manila.

• LWUA – Status of sewerage and sanitation management outsideMetro manila and the plan of LGUs and Water District to constructSeptage Treatment Facilities

Status of Coordination with the Plans to Develop Wastewater Treatment System

• LGUs – Projects identified for inclusion in the sewerage andseptage and management program for submission to DPWH.Inventory of household and with septic tanks. Preparation ofordinance for all LGUs to have sewerage and sanitation facilities

• DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways)- Status ofNSSMP and DPWH-World Bank project on the provision ofWTF in 17 Major cities

• NEDA-ADB – on the preparation of feasibility studies onsewerage and sanitation management for 34 municipality.

• EMB – provision of assistance to LGUs in the preparation offeasibility studies on sewerage and sanitation management intheir municipality.

Issues and Challenges on the Water Environment Legislation

• Inadequate logistical support to strictly enforce the cleanwater act and related laws (financial and technical)

• Inadequate capacity of the law implementers especially at thelocal level.

• Low awareness of the stakeholders on the existing law, rulesand regulations on wastewater management

• Weak cooperation among different government agencies andLocal Government Units, hence derail law enforcement

• Big investment on the part of industrial establishments to putup WTF as a results of the inclusion of additional parametersin the new effluent standard (NO3, PO4)

Thank you!