Water In The Philippines Research Articles

Horizontal-flow constructed wetlands by phytoremediation using vetiver grass, common reed, and canna lily as tertiary wastewater treatment for the reduction of pollutant concentrations of ammonia, phosphates, and nitrates

Abstract The discharge of untreated wastewater into rivers and water bodies poses significant environmental and public health risks. High concentrations of contaminants like heavy metals and pharmaceuticals disrupt rivers, exacerbating waterborne diseases, and leading to unsafe water in the Philippines. This study proposed the use of horizontal-flow constructed wetlands as a tertiary treatment method utilizing the plants: vetiver grass, common reed, and canna lily, to reduce pollutant concentrations in wastewater. This is to ensure compliance with water quality guidelines and general effluent standards under the Class SB Category, water suitable for fishery, tourist zones, and recreational activities. The research investigated the efficiency of phytoremediation beds in removing pollutants from wastewater under fixed hydraulic retention times. The efficiency of reducing pollutants and adsorption isotherms (Freundlich and Langmuir) were calculated to analyze the results of the sampling. Phytoremediation bed 1 demonstra ted efficient ammonia removal by 64.64%. Phytoremediation bed 2 was proficient in reducing nitrates at 83.85%, while phytoremediation bed 3 effectively reduced phosphate to an average of 26.26%, achieved after a 6-hour retention time. In addition, Freundlich adsorption isotherm was observable in most parameters in phytoremediation bed 1 such as ammonia as nitrogen, TDS, COD, and DO. Phytoremediation bed 3 exhibited the same adsorption isotherm on ammonia as nitrogen. Conclusively, the phytoremediation system met the Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Updated Water Quality Guidelines and General Effluent Standard (GES) for all parameters tested.

Arsenic in Philippine Groundwaters: Exploring Governance Limitations for Drinking Water Safety

Arsenic in drinking water is an emerging environmental health threat in the Philippines. Local studies investigate the occurrence and health effects of the hazard, but governance dimensions remain understudied. This study explores why some consumers remain vulnerable to arsenic poisoning despite the existence of a water institution framework for groundwater management and drinking water safety. The framework for arsenic risk management for safe drinking water in the Philippines was mapped from “source-to-sip”. Textual analysis of pertinent legal documents and official reports; and transcripts of a roundtable discussion and minutes of meetings with national agency representatives were undertaken with regard to the principles of integrated groundwater management and the human right to safe drinking water. Findings suggest that existing programs and policy instruments for groundwater quality monitoring provide insufficient information for early arsenic detection. Furthermore, while the country’s legal framework supports functions for arsenic risk mitigation for formal water supplies, the current regulatory approach fails to protect self-provisioning households as they access water from informal systems uncovered by water quality surveillance. Enhancing groundwater quality monitoring in suspected arsenic hotspots to alert self-provisioning households will promote a self-protection policy so they can shift to safer sources of drinking water.

MAPPING COLOURED DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER IN MANILA BAY USING SENTINEL-3 AND WASI

Abstract. Manila Bay is one of the most significant bodies of water in the Philippines; it has abundant natural resources that have been the source of livelihood and center of socio-economic development for centuries. However, Manila Bay is affected by multiple environmental problems and challenges. These include increased organic and nutrient loading from untreated domestic, industrial, and agricultural wastes and deterioration of marine habitats threatened by anthropogenic activities. Regular water quality monitoring is ideal in these situations, however, sampling by traditional field methods would not be enough to assess the spatial and temporal variation of water quality in Manila Bay. Gathering field data for the whole bay can also be very challenging due to its extent and logistic constraints. Remote sensing fills the need for a frequent full view of Manila Bay’s water quality. This study makes use of existing bio-optical models to estimate colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in Manila Bay. CDOM is the mixture of organic molecules from decayed higher plants, algae, and bacteria, and is the colored portion of the total dissolved organic matter. Sentinel-3 images with concurrent field sampling on 19 July 2021 was used to calibrate and validate the bio-optical models implemented in WASI. The parameterization output showed an R2 = 0.579 and RMSE of 1.274 m−1 from lab-measured CDOM fluorescence converted to absorption. The same parameter set was used on a different image with a concurrent water quality survey on 19 May 2021 and resulted to an R2 of 0.72 with the spectrofluorometer yellow substance concentrations.

Microplastics in fecal samples of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) and from surface water in the Philippines

Marine plastic abundance has increased over the past 60 years and microplastics (< 5 mm) constitute a primary component of such litter. Filter-feeding megafauna, such as the whale shark, might be particularly affected by microplastic pollution as their feeding mode requires filtration of up to thousands of cubic meters of water. In addition, the habitat range of whale sharks intersects with several recognized microplastic pollution hotspots, among which is the Coral Triangle. Direct evidence for microplastic ingestion in whale sharks however, has not yet been presented. Here we show that whale shark scat collected in the Philippines from 2012 to 2019 contained a mean of 2.8 microplastics g− 1. Contrary to our expectations, the microplastic concentration in the scat remained consistent from 2012 to 2019. Water samples from the study site in 2019 indicated that the local microplastic pollution (5.83 particles m− 3) was higher than in surface waters in other whale shark habitats, but well below other pollution hot-spots found in Southeast Asia and China (range: 100–4100 particles m− 3). With the predicted growth in plastic use, leading to increased plastic marine pollution, whale sharks are expected to become more exposed to this form of pollution. To what extent microplastic ingestion impacts the overall health status of this endangered species remains an open question.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Practices in the Philippines: Meeting National and Global Targets at the Local Level

As national and global water, sanitation, and hygiene targets have been set and programs have been implemented, the study aimed to assess the attainment of these targets at the local level in selected areas in Davao region, the Philippines. Randomly selected households were assessed for water, sanitation, and hygiene indicators using a modified tool that combined national guidelines and global recommendations. Validated access to improved water source for drinking was below the targets in most barangays, while validated sanitary toilet coverages in all barangays did not meet the targets. Significant difference was observed between validated and reported access to improved water and sanitation services in some barangays. Approximately 87.5% of households had a handwashing facility, but only 51.2% of which had both water and soap available. Achieving the targets is challenged by the gap in monitoring due to a decentralized health system in the Philippines. There is a need to standardize indicators and optimize the tool to allow a comprehensive assessment of water, sanitation, and hygiene practices. This will help generate local data that are in line with national guidelines and global recommendations to enhance policy and to determine priority areas for improved water, sanitation, and hygiene service delivery.

Reed Bed System for the Improvement of Laguna Lake Waters

Laguna lake is the biggest lake and considered one of the most important inland bodies of water in the Philippines due to its many uses. However, the lake has faced growing pressures (i.e., population expansion, urbanization, industrialization, deforestation, and land conversion) on its ecosystems over the past decades. These activities have led to the degradation of the lake’s water quality and ecosystem.The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) provided a water quality standard for freshwater in determining trends and in the evaluation of stages of deterioration or enhancement in quality of water which include 1) Class AA (Public Water Supply Class I); 2) Class A (Public Water Supply Class II); 3) Class B (Recreational Water Class I); Class C (Propagation and growth of fish class); and Class D (Navigable Waters). The classification of Laguna Lake falls under Class C, which means it is suitable for fishery. With this, intervention for the improvement of the water in Laguna Lake is highly needed. This study aims to design and assess the effectiveness of the reed bed system for the improvement of Laguna Lake. Results show that using reed bed water treatment; the total coliform will meet the standards of DENR after three years of treatment, which can be used as a source of water for irrigation, recreational area, and propagation of fishes. The concentration of ammonia will meet the standards of DENR after two and a half years by using reed bed water treatment, and inorganic phosphate will meet the standards of DENR after three years by using reed bed water treatment.

Exergy analysis and energy utilization in the transportation sector of the Philippines

This paper analysed the energy and exergy utilization of the four transportation sectors (road, rail, water, and air) in the Philippines during the years 1990 to 2016. The consumption per fuel was also considered in the analysis because each sector utilizes one or more type of fuel. The collected data showed that road transportation has the highest fuel utilization, and energy and exergy efficiency amongst the four followed by the aviation and marine subsectors which are both less significant than the results from the road transportation sector. Also, it was observed that diesel and gasoline are the ones commonly used in the road, rail, and marine subsectors compared to LPG, ethanol, biodiesel, and electricity. Comparing the overall energy and exergy efficiencies from 20 years ago, it was observed that the efficiencies are gradually increasing annually in small increments. The data presented in this research will be beneficial to the Philippine transportation sector to effectively reduce cost and improve the quality of transport in the country. It is also helpful to base future transportation designs on the energy and exergy efficiencies to better improve transportation and reduce the environmental impact which can both be practical for the economy and the ecosystem.

Environmental Presence and Genetic Characteristics of Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae from Hospital Sewage and River Water in the Philippines.

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and genetic characteristics of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in hospital sewage and river water in the Philippines, which has a typical tropical maritime climate. We collected 83 water samples from 7 hospital sewage and 10 river water sites. CPE were identified using CHROMagar mSuperCARBA, and Gram-negative strains were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) or 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Resistance genes in Enterobacteriaceae strains were identified using PCR and DNA sequencing, and transferability of carbapenemase genes from the CPE was investigated with conjugation experiments. Genotyping was performed using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) for Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae Out of 124 Enterobacteriaceae isolates, we identified 51 strains as CPE and divided these into 7 species, 11 E. coli, 14 Klebsiella spp., 15 Enterobacter spp., and 11 others, including 4 additional species. Conjugation experiments via broth mating and using E. coli J53 revealed that 24 isolates can transfer carbapenemase-encoding plasmids. MLST analysis showed that 6 of 11 E. coli isolates belonged to clonal complex 10 (CC10). Of 11 K. pneumoniae strains, 9 unique sequence types (STs) were identified, including ST147. Five types of carbapenemase genes were identified, with the most prevalent being NDM (n = 39), which is epidemic in clinical settings in the Philippines. E. coli CC10 and K. pneumoniae ST147, which are often detected in clinical settings, were the dominant strains. In summary, our results indicate that hospital sewage and river water are contaminated by CPE strains belonging to clinically important clonal groups.IMPORTANCE Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) cause severe health care-associated infections, and their increasing prevalence is a serious concern. Recently, natural ecosystems have been recognized as important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes. We investigated the prevalence and genetic characteristics of CPE isolated from the environment (hospital sewage and river water) in the Philippines and found several CPE, including Escherichia coli and other species, with different carbapenemases. The most prevalent carbapenemase gene type was NDM, which is endemic in clinical settings. This study revealed that isolates belonging to carbapenemase-producing E. coli CC10 and K. pneumoniae sequence type 147 (ST147), which are often detected in clinical settings, were dominant in the natural environment. Our work here provides a report on the presence and characteristics of CPE in the environment in the Philippines and demonstrates that both hospital sewage and river water are contaminated by CPE strains belonging to clinically important clonal groups.

Detection of Subgenotype IA and IIIA Hepatitis A Viruses in Rivers Flowing through Metro Manila, the Philippines.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a common infectious etiology of acute hepatitis worldwide. The Philippines remains highly endemic for hepatitis A, but there is still a lack of information about HAV in the country. To evaluate the HAV contamination in environmental water in the Philippines, we conducted the detection and genetic analyses of HAV RNA in samples from river water. Twelve water samples were collected at 6 sampling sites of 3 rivers in Metro Manila, in both the dry and wet seasons in 2012 and 2013. The HAV RNA was detected in all the 6 samples collected in the dry season, and in one sample from the wet season. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the HAV strains detected in the river water included multiple sequences belonging to subgenotypes IA and IIIA. This indicates that at least 2 genotypes of the HAV strains are circulating in the environment in the Philippines, posing a risk of HAV infection to not only residents, but also tourists, especially in the dry season.

Thirsty for Change: Considering Water Privatization in Developing Countries

Access, maintenance, and distribution of clean water are daunting tasks for developing nations. Efforts to provide clean drinking water have often fallen short, which has prompted the World Bank to advocate for privatization. From a theoretical perspective, privatization blends the advantages of corporate efficiency with responsible management on behalf of the national government. Analysis of attempts to privatize water in the Philippines, with the establishment of the Metropolitan Waterworks Sewerage System (MWSS), shows mixed results. Between 1997 and 2003, citizens with access to water increased from 58 percent to 84 percent, yet water became five times costlier due to privatization. Advocates may applaud the efficiency of the model, but developing nations must emphasize accessibility and affordability of the resource. Privatization, as a model for water distribution, remains contentious. * The following authors include MPA candidates at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a researcher at the Earth Institute. The authors would like to thank Casey Brown, from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society. He provided precise commentary and motivation that aided in writing this report. Jack Foshee, an MPA candidate, has a research focuses on renewable resource systems and sustainability issues. He can be reached at jf2425@columbia.edu. Anirban Ghosh, an MPA candidate, has a primary research interests in the maintenance of large water systems and urban energy use. He can be reached at ag2638@columbia.edu. Christopher Graham, an MPA candidate, can be reached at cjg2131@columbia.edu. William Thomas Murray, an MPA candidate, has a primary interest in the development and implementation of a comprehensive emissions-reducing bill in the United States. He can be reached at wtm2102@columbia.edu. Celine Ruben-Salama is a Swedish American living and working in New York City pursuing her MPA. Her main focus is private sector solutions to Environmental issues and private-public partnerships. She can be reached at csr2109@columbia.edu. Dr. Tobias Siegfried is currently working at the Earth Institute, Columbia University. He studies a broad range of issues related to the management of scarce freshwater resources and its improvement. He can be reached at ts2392@columbia.edu.

An index model for evaluating water safety plans in the Philippines

Developing a water safety plan (WSP) is now a requirement for all service providers of drinking water in the Philippines. To assist compliance with the Philippine Department of Health (DOH), this study develops an index model that the DOH can use for evaluating WSPs and covers the WSPs of 14 water districts and 11 health care facilities. The WSP Index model was developed using a nine-step process and was tested in 25 WSPs to determine the robustness of its weights and benchmark. Approximately 21 WSPs received a passing mark when the 60% benchmark was used but only nine WSPs passed when the benchmark was raised to 74%. This Philippine model may be utilized by countries in evaluating the WSPs, and further adapted to their local context and considerations.

Full genome analysis of Philippine indigenous subgenotype IA hepatitis A virus strains from Japanese patients with imported acute hepatitis A

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is the most common cause of infectious hepatitis worldwide. Although hepatitis A cases imported from South-East Asian countries, including the Philippines, have been reported in Japan, the molecular epidemiological data have been limited for these HAV-endemic countries. The full-length genomic sequences of HAV isolates were determined and subjected to the phylogenetic analyses. The HAV isolates (HA12-0796 and HA12-0938) obtained from two Japanese patients who developed acute hepatitis A in July 2012, 1 month after traveling to the Philippines, where they consumed undercooked shellfish, differed by only one nucleotide (nt) over the entire genome. These HAV isolates of genotype IA were 99.1-99.5% identical within 228-237 nt to those recovered from river water in the Philippines, suggesting that the HA12-0796 and HA12-0938 isolates represent HAV circulating in the Philippines. HAV isolates belonging to one of the two IA sublineages (IA-2) which were implicated in some of the mini-epidemics in 2010 in Japan are hypothesized to be connected with the Philippines. In support of this speculation, the present IA isolates (HA12-0796 and HA12-0938) shared 98.8% identity over the entire genome with one IA-2 isolate (HAJIH-Fukuo10) recovered from a Japanese female who developed a domestic HAV infection during the mini-epidemics. In the phylogenetic tree constructed based on the entire genome, these three isolates (HA12-0796, HA12-0938 and HAJIH-Fukuo10) segregated into a cluster with a bootstrap value of 100%. These results indicate that HAV isolates belonging to the IA-2 lineage might have been imported from the Philippines.

Comparative Analysis of Leptospira Strains Isolated from Environmental Soil and Water in the Philippines and Japan

There have been few reports on the epidemiological analysis of environmental Leptospira isolates. This is probably because the isolation of leptospires from the environment was usually unsuccessful due to the overgrowth of contaminants and the slow growth of Leptospira. In this study, we collected a total of 88 samples of soil and water from three sites: Metro Manila and Nueva Ecija, Philippines (an area where Leptospira is now endemic), and Fukuoka, Japan (an area where Leptospira was once endemic). We succeeded in isolating Leptospira from 37 samples by using the novel combination of five antimicrobial agents reported in 2011. The frequencies of positive isolation of Leptospira in the Philippines and Japan were 40 and 46%, respectively. For Leptospira-positive samples, five colonies from each sample were isolated and analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The isolates from each area showed their respective characteristics in phylogenetic trees based on the PFGE patterns. Some isolates were closely related to each other across borders. Based on 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic analysis, four isolates in Fukuoka were identified as a pathogenic species, L. alstonii; however, its virulence had been lost. One isolate from Nueva Ecija was identified as the intermediate pathogenic species Leptospira licerasiae. Most of the isolates from the environment belonged to nonpathogenic Leptospira species. We also investigated the strain variation among the isolates in a puddle over 5 months. We demonstrated, using PFGE analysis, that Leptospira survived in the wet soil on dry days and appeared in the surface water on rainy days. These results showed that the soil could be a reservoir of leptospires in the environment.

Climate Change Adaptation in Water and Agricultural Sectors in the Philippines: Some Issues and Challenges

Climate Change Adaptation in Water and Agricultural Sectors in the Philippines: Some Issues and Challenges

Irrigation management transfer (IMT) and system of rice intensification (SRI) practice in the Philippines

SRI practices can usually increase the yield of paddy without using special varieties of rice or chemicals. High yield of paddy can be simply achieved through the combination of transplanting single seedlings about 8–10 days old with just two leaves on 40 cm × 40 cm spacing, providing organic fertilizer, and intermittent irrigation. No pesticides are applied. Historically, integrated management of water and crop (particularly rice) in the Philippines, had its beginning with the Spaniards, but more formal events were recorded in the 1950s by Margate (1954) in “Rice: 100 Cavans (50 kg/cavan) per Hectare.” This was followed by the Water Management Manual released in the 1970s by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and National Irrigation Administration (NIA). Recently, the Southern Philippines Irrigation Sector Project (SPISP), a joint ADB–NIA effort, has commenced trials with the system of rice intensification (SRI) practice. One of the most specific features of SRI is the intermittent irrigation system which requires assured water supply at necessary timing. It is easier to attain assured water supply on timely manner through irrigation management transfer (IMT) which encourages the empowerment of fair water distribution. This article analyzes the merit of IMT for SRI.

Privatization and Citizenship: Local politics of water in the Philippines

Nai Rui Chng explores the different ways in which water privatization has impacted on the constitution of political community in the context of local politics. Based on recent fieldwork on small-scale water providers in an urban poor community in Taguig City, Metro Manila, in the Philippines, he describes collective action by the Taguig urban poor in response to water privatization. He outlines how Taguig's experience informs the wider debate on water privatization and citizenship.

Child Malnutrition and the Provision of Water and Sanitation in the Philippines

The prospects for achieving the Millennium Development Goal on nutrition are predicted to be bleak in the Philippines. These predictions, however, take no account of the interactions between nutritional and sanitary interventions. These interactions are reported to matter in the Philippines and elsewhere, but evidence is far from conclusive. Using a nationwide demographic survey, this paper employs two alternative estimation techniques (probits and propensity matching scores) to quantify such relations among Filipino households. The results confirm that water and sanitation provision have a positive effect on nutritional status, but these effects are not substantial. Community-based piped water provision and flush toilets have the greatest potential to reduce malnutrition. Household access to point source water and latrines are more likely to reduce the probability of birth malnutrition among poor households than other public infrastructure. Such interactions, however, cannot substitute for improving the coverage and quality of overall health and nutrition interventions.

The Significance of Justiciability: Legal Rights, Development, and the Human Right to Water in the Philippines

The Significance of Justiciability: Legal Rights, Development, and the Human Right to Water in the Philippines

Field water management to save water and increase its productivity in irrigated lowland rice

Rice production in Asia needs to increase to feed a growing population whereas water for irrigation is getting scarcer. Major challenges are to (i) save water; (ii) increase water productivity and (iii) produce more rice with less water. This study analyzes the ways in which water-saving irrigation can help to meet these challenges at the field level. The analyses are conducted using experimental data collected mostly in central–northern India and the Philippines. Water input can be reduced by reducing ponded water depths to soil saturation or by alternate wetting/drying. Water savings under saturated soil conditions were on average 23% (±14%) with yield reductions of only 6% (±6%). Yields were reduced by 10–40% when soil water potentials in the root zone were allowed to reach −100 to −300 mbar. In clayey soils, intermittent drying may lead to shrinkage and cracking, thereby risking increased soil water loss, increased water requirements and decreased water productivity. Water productivity in continuous flooded rice was typically 0.2–0.4 g grain per kg water in India and 0.3–1.1 g grain per kg water in the Philippines. Water-saving irrigation increases water productivity, up to a maximum of about 1.9 g grain per kg water, but decreases yield. It therefore does not produce more rice with less water on the same field. Field-level water productivity and yield can only be increased concomitantly by improving total factor productivity or by raising the yield potential. Total rice production can be increased by using water saved in one location to irrigate new land in another. If this is not done, a strategy of saving water at the field level potentially threatens total rice production at large.

Harpacticoids From Groundwaters in the Philippines: Parastenocaris Mangyans, New Species, Epactophanes Philippinus, New Species, and Redescription of Phyllognathopus Bassoti (Copepoda)

New data are presented on the taxonomy, ecology, and distribution of harpacticoid copepods belonging to the families Parastenocarididae, Canthocamptidae, and Phyllognathopodidae, all of them from continental fresh water in the Philippines. Parastenocaris mangyans, new species, has been collected in superficial and deep phreatic waters of Oriental Mindoro. Its taxonomy has been studied using scanning electron microscopy. The species is characterized by a hyaline integumental window on the ventral genital somite of the female. It differs from other Asiatic species of Parastenocaris in the morphology of P4 of the male, which is more similar to the corresponding appendage of species belonging to the proserpina species group. Parastenocaris mangyans is the first species of this family to be collected in the Philippines. Epactophanes philippinus, new species, has been collected in the phreatic waters of a river on Cebu Island. The characteristic features of this new species are primarily the morphology and ornamentation of the mandibular palp in both sexes and of P3 in the male, subordinately the ornamentation of P2-P4 in the female and of P4 in the male. Phyllognathopus bassoti has been redescribed on the basis of new material collected from fresh and brackish water wells in Bantayan Island, thus broadening the distribution and the ecology of the species, which had been previously collected only in a lake in Papua New Guinea. The genus Phyllognathopus seems to be very adaptable and euryoecious; it is well distributed in any aquatic habitat and in leaf-litter on all continents and several oceanic archipelagos.