Water Management and

Conservation

Chapter 5
Natural Resources and Environmental Management
 TOPICS

• Water Resources in the Philippines

• Water Uses By Sector in the Philippines
• Water Availability and Scarcity
• Water Use and Competition
• Water Pollution Issues
• Management and Conservation Measures/Approaches
Water Resources

• Sources of water that are useful or potentially useful

• Agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and
environmental activities
• Hydrologic cycle - involves the continuous circulation of water
in the Earth-atmosphere system
Water Resources

• Ocean: 97% of earth’s water

• Freshwater
• Glaciers
• Groundwater
• Others:
• Surface water
• Lakes
• Rivers
• Swamp
Freshwater Sources
-
Surface Water
• Freshwater - water that contains less than 1,000 milligrams
per liter (mg/L) of dissolved solids. Generally, water with
more than 500 mg/L of dissolved solids is undesirable for
drinking and many industrial uses

• Saline water–water that contains 1,000 mg/L or more of

dissolved solids
Surface Water
• Water in a river, lake or fresh water wetland
• Naturally replenished by precipitation and naturally lost through
discharge to the oceans, evaporation, evapotranspiration and
sub-surface seepage
Surface Water
• The totally quantity of water in that system at any given time is
also dependent on many other factors:
• storage capacity in lakes
• wetlands and artificial reservoir
• permeability of the soil beneath these storage bodies
• runoff characteristics of the land in the watershed
• the timing of the precipitation
• local evaporation rates
Surface Water: River
Surface Water: River

• River and stream are bodies of flowing surface water driven by

gravity
Surface Water: Lakes
• Created from a variety of geological events:
Tectonic-basin Lake
Volcanic Lake
Glacial Lake
Ground-water Discharge Lake

• Generate water from:

Collection of water in low areas
Natural or man-made dams
River and streams
Groundwater
Surface Water: Wetlands
• Land where water covers the surface either permanently or
seasonally (swamp, marsh)
• Role is not as important as lakes and river or water storage
• Plays vital role in:
Erosion protection
Flood reduction
Groundwater replenishment
Trapping nutrient and sedimentation
water purification
Fish and wildlife habitat
 Under River Flow
• The total volume of water transported downstream will often be
a combination of:

• The visible free water flow

• Substantial contribution
flowing through sub-
surface rocks and gravels
that underlie the river and
its floodplain (hyporheic
zone)
Groundwater

• Subsurface water or groundwater –

fresh water located in the pore
space of soil and rocks

• Water that is flowing within

aquifers below the water table

• Readily available for drinking

Groundwater

• Due to its slow rate of turnover, sub-surface water storage is

generally much longer compares to inputs than it is fore surface
water
Natural inputs to sub-surface water is seepage from
surface water
Natural outputs from sub-surface water are springs and
seepage to the oceans
Desalination
• An artificial process by which saline water (generally sea water) is
converted to freshwater
• Distillation and reverse osmosis
 Desalination

• Currently expensive
compared to most
alternative sources of water,
and only a very small
fraction of total human use
is satisfied to desalination
• Economically practical only
for high-values uses
(household, industrial uses)
in arid areas
Frozen Water
• Proposed to make use of icebergs as a water source
• However, to date only been done for novelty purposes
• Glacier runoff is considered to be surface water
 Freshwater Resources in the Philippines

• 421 Principal River

Basins (Drainage Area
> 40 sq. km)
• 18 Major River
Basins (Drainage Area
> 1,400 sq. km.)
• 72 Lakes
• Extensive
Groundwater
Aquifers (50,000 sq.
km.)
Water Uses by Sector in the
Philippines
-
Total, by Sector, and by Year
Water Availability and Scarcity
-
Water Stress and Water Scarcity
Water Stress
• Annual water supplies is less than 1,700
cubic meters per person

Water Scarcity
• Annual water supplies is less than 1,000
cubic meter per person

Absolute Scarcity
• Annual water supplies is less than 500
cubic meter per person
Water Stress and Water Scarcity
Freshwater Shortage
• Freshwater shortage is due to :
• Population growth
• Groundwater is being depleted
• Climate change
• Rivers and lakes are shrinking
• Water Pollution
• Saline water intrusion
Freshwater Shortage
• Climate Change
• Link between climate and hydrological cycle
• affect precipitation and evaporation patterns and hence the
distribution of water below and upon earth surface
• Rising temperature will increase evaporation and lead to increase in
precipitation (regional variations in rainfall)
• In some areas water tables in the subsurface will rise and may
result in flooding and increased river runoff
• while in others they will decline with water scarcity in both surface
and subsurface waters as a consequence
Freshwater Shortage
• Climate Change
• Increase water demand for agriculture, primarily for irrigation, due to
prolonged dry periods and severe drought, some research estimates an
over 40% increase in irrigated land by 2080
• Increase water demand for hydration needs for billions of farm animals
due to higher atmospheric temperatures
• Increase quantities of water needed for industrial cooling due to
increased atmospheric and water temperatures
• Contaminate coastal surface and groundwater resources due to sea
level rise, resulting in saltwater intrusion into rivers, deltas, and aquifers
• Increase extreme precipitation and flooding, which will increase
erosion rates and wash soil-based pollutants and toxins into waterways
 Freshwater Shortage
• Drought
• considered as a temporary decrease of the average water availability
due to (rainfall deficiency)
• natural hazard, caused by large‐scale
climatic variability, and cannot be
prevented by local water management
• impact can be exacerbated when
occur in a region with low water
resources or where water resources
are not being properly managed
• resulting in imbalances between water
demands and the supply capacity of
the natural system
 Freshwater Shortage
• Flood
• Natural phenomenon
• Geomorphic Equilibrium in the
river system is disturbed because
of intrinsic or extrinsic factors or
when the system crosses the
geomorphic threshold
• Intrinsic Threshold – Flooding in
a river due to aggradation of
river bed
• Extrinsic Threshold – Flooding
in a river due to heavy rainfall
Freshwater Shortage
Groundwater Depletion
• Direct human consumption and agricultural irrigation by
groundwater
• Chin, Nepal, and India – irrigation in dry areas is supplied
by groundwater being extracted at un unsustainable rate
• Mexico, Bangkok, Manila, Beijing, Shanghai – experienced
aquifer drop between 10-50 m
Freshwater Shortage
Water Pollution
• Many pollutants threaten water supplies, but
most widespread especially in developing
countries – discharge of raw sewage into
natural water
• Non-point source pollution – agricultural
runoff is significant source
• Urban stormwater runoff
• Chemical waste dumped by industries and
governments
Water Use Problems and Conflicts
Water Overuse
 Overuse in agriculture
 Overuse in household
 Overuse in community
Interesting Facts:
 Water needed to produce daily
food:
 40 liters = 1 slice of bread
 70 liters = 1 apple
 1,300 liters = 1kg of wheat
 3,400 liters = 1kg of rice
 3,900 liters = 1kg of chicken meat
 15,500 liters = 1kg of beef
Water Use Problems and Conflicts
Water Footprint
 Water Footprint of a product is
the volume of fresh water used
to produce the product or
service, summed over the
various steps of the production
chain, appropriated spatially and
temporally
 Water footprint is a measure of
humanity’s appropriation of
fresh water in volumes of water
consumed and/or polluted.
Water Footprint
Water Use Problems and Conflicts
Water Conflict
 Control of Water Resources: where water supplies or access to
water is at the root of tensions
 Political goal: where water resources or water system, are used
by a nation, stats or non-state actor for political goal
 Development Disputes: where water resources or water system,
are a major source of contention and dispute in the context of
economic and social development
Major Issues on Water Environmental Management in
the Philippines
 Pollution of water bodies from point sources and non-point
sources
Governance Issue
 Weak law enforcement
 Institutional fragmentation (overlapping functions of
various government agencies mandated on water
management)
Water Uses and Competition
-
Water Uses
• Off-stream Uses
 Agriculture
 Industrial
 Mining
 Domestic
 Commercial

• In-stream Uses
 Hydropower
 Navigation
 Recreation
 Ecosystem Support
Water Uses
• Consumptive
 the part of water withdrawn that is evaporated, transpired,
incorporated into products or crops, consumed by humans or
livestock, or otherwise not available for immediate use or does
not return to water source

• Non-consumptive
 Water can be put to additional use
 Contaminated water but remains available to human for the
same or other uses it its quality is adequate or can be treated to
remove undesirable material
Agricultural
Irrigation
• 70% - worldwide water use is for irrigation, with 15-35% of
irrigation withdrawals being unsustainable
• 2000 – 3000 litres of water to produce enough food to satisfy one
person’s daily dietary need
• Evaporation and seepage
from unlined irrigation
systems are the principal
water losses
Agricultural
• Livestock • Aquaculture
• Daily operation • Raising Fish
• Watering livestock • Raising shellfish
• Cooling livestock facilities • Raising shrimp and lobster
• Dairy sanitation and clean-up
• Animal waste disposal
Industrial
• 22% of worldwide water is used in
industry
 Hydroelectric dams
 Thermoelectric power plants - need
water to cool down their machinery to a
temperature that allows the
manufacturing process to keep going • Water withdrawal can be
 ore and oil refineries – use water in very high for certain
chemical processes industries
 manufacturing plants – use water as a • But consumption is
solvent generally much lower
than that of agriculture
Industrial

Hydroelectric Power

• the use of water in the generation of

electricity at plants where the turbine
generators are driven by moving water
Industrial
Dam
• a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards
the flow often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment
• Considered as a multipurpose river project because they can be
used for many purposes:
Irrigation
Electricity generation
Water supply for domestic
and industrial use
Flood control
Recreation
Inland navigation
Fish breeding
Advantages and Disadvantages of Dam
Advantages Disadvantages
Reduces consumption of fossil Fragmentation and physical transformation of rivers
fuels for electricity production
Provide Water Supply for Social consequences of large dams due to displacement
Irrigation of local communities
Flood Control Impact on riverine ecosystem
Waste Impoundment Water logging and salinization of surrounding land
Power Supply Species Extinction - large-scale wildlife habitat
destruction and disruption of natural migration patterns
Recreation Soil Erosion – sediments build up in dam
Navigation Expensive to build and Requires maintenance
Renewable Energy resource Cause of disputes
Mining
• Water is used for the extraction of minerals primarily for mineral
processing, dust suppression, slurry transport and employees'
needs
• Mining water use is water used
for the extraction of minerals that
may be in the form of solids,
such as coal, iron, sand, and
gravel; liquids, such as crude
petroleum; and gases, such as
natural gas

Runoff from a nearby gold mine has degraded the Kingking River in
Compostela Valley, a Philippine province where tension between small-
scale miners and a foreign mining company underscores a national debate
over the future of extractive industries
Domestic

• 8% of worldwide water use is for

households purposes
• Drinking water, bathing, cooking,
sanitation, and gardening
• Basic household water
requirements is at 50 liters per
person per day (excluding water
for gardens)
Commercial

• Business activity ranging from

industrialization to services such as
tourism and entertainment continuous to
expand rapidly
• This expansion requires increased water
services including both supply and
sanitation
Recreational
• Recreational water is usually a very small but growing parentage of
total water use
• Mostly tied to reservoirs
• If a reservoirs is kept fuller than it would otherwise be for
recreation, then the water retained could be categorized as
recreational usage
• Recreational water is usually non-consumptive
• Recreational usage may reduce the availability of water for other
users at specific times and places
• Water retained in a reservoir to allow boating in the late summer is
not available for farmers during
 Environmental
• Include water stored in impoundments and released for
environmental purposes (held environmental water)
• More often is water retained in waterways through regulatory
limits of abstractions
• Also includes water of natural
and artificial wetlands, artificial
lakes intended to create wildlife
habitat, fish ladders, and water
released from reservoirs timed
to help fish spawn or to
restores more natural flow
regimes China's reservoir discharges water to help fish spawn
 Land Use/Cover
Change
• Land Conversion
• Urbanization
• Industrialization
Climate Change • Agriculture

Change in Surface and

Groundwater
• Quantity
• Quality
• Demand and Uses
Change in Soil

IF ANY DRIVER OF WATERSHED CHANGE IS IMPROPERLY MANAGED, WATERSHED ECOSYSTEMS AND COMMUNITIES ARE
LIKELY TO BE VULNERABLE AND AT RISK

Change in
Water
Availability

• Sociodemography Policies and Institutions

• Economic Conditions

Integrated Watershed management Planning Presentation – Rex Cruz

Water Pollution Issues
-
 Pollution of Water Resources‐surface Water and
Groundwater
Philippines issues:
 Inadequate sewerage and sanitation facilities
 Inadequate solid wastes management facilities
 Improper Agricultural Practices
 Inadequate Industrial/commercial waste disposal facilities
 Deforestation
 Land Development

Policy Research On Water Environmental Management And Collaboration Framework Between Policy Makers And Researchers In The
Philippine 2014- Vicente B. Tuddao, Jr., Ph.D
Sources of Water Pollution in the Philippines

Progress of Water Environment Governance in the Philippines 2019- Vicente B. Tuddao, Jr. Ph.D
Increase Water Supply

 Water Conservation
 Development of Groundwater
 Desalinization
 Developing salt-resistant crops
 Rainmaking
 Long Distant Water Transport
 Improve Integration of Water Use
Management and Conservation
Measures/Approaches
-
Rainwater Harvesting
 Method through rainwater is collected and stored in tanks or
wells to use it later where there is no water
 Water harvesting system are considered variable alternative
both socially and environmentally

Republic Act 6716, also known as the Rainwater

Collector and Springs Development Act of 1989,
An Act Providing For The Construction Of Water
Wells, Rainwater Collectors, Development Of
Springs And Rehabilitation Of Existing Water
Wells In All Barangays In The Philippines
Watershed Management
Watershed
 A land area drained by a stream or any fixed body of water
and its tributaries having a common outlet for surface run-
off (PD 705).
 Important habitats for flora and fauna, and offer a source
of freshwater for drinking and recreational activities
 Drainage Area Drainage Divide
(Ridges)

Stream/fixed body of water

Common Outlet
(e.g. Lake)

WATERSHED COMPONENTS 59
 River Basin vs. Watershed

Drainage Area
23,169 km2
River Basin Watershed
• final destination is an • smaller area of land
estuary that drains to a smaller
stream, lake or
wetland
• there are many smaller
watersheds within a
river basin
 Watershed Management

INTEGRATED WATERSHED PLANNING AND CLIMATE CHANGE

ADAPTATION AND DRR PLANNING

www.fao.org

• Enabling mechanisms for interagency/LGU planning & • CCA and DRRM based on watershed-based
formulation of policies & programs framework
• Policy reforms • Revision of CLUP and CDP based on Watershed-based
• Institutional strengthening framework
• Forest landscape restoration • Livelihood development
• Soil and water conservation • Improve provision of technical and financial
• Upland conservation farming assistance to farmers
• Forest protection • Watershed monitoring
• Institutionalization of unified watershed-based framework • Transformative IEC
for all spatial development planning • Infrastructure development
Watershed Management
Classification of Inland Water Bodies
Water Quality Guidelines and General Effluent Standards of 2016
DENR Administrative Order. No. 2016
Results of Water Quality Monitoring of Priority Rivers

Progress of Water Environment Governance in the Philippines 2019- Vicente B. Tuddao, Jr. Ph.D
 Major Institutions Involved in the Water Governance in the
Philippines

Policy Research On Water Environmental Management And Collaboration Framework Between Policy Makers And Researchers In The Philippine - Vicente B. Tuddao, Jr., Ph.D
Tips on How to Save Water

Increasing water resources start from all of us.

 Take shorter showers
 Don’t let the faucet running while washing hands, dishes,
food or brushing teeth
 Dispose household hazardous waste, used motor oils,
batteries responsibly
 Check faucet leaks
 Use water conserving appliances: low flush toilet, low-flow
showers
 Water gardens during night, not middle of the day
“Thousands have lived
without love, none
without water.”― W.H. Auden