The state of water resources in the Philippines - Greenpeace

In March 2007, the DENR warned of groundwater contamination in Pamplona,
Las Piñas. Tricholoroethylene (TCE), a carcinogen, was found in 19 out of 102
wells tested in the vicinity of a Philips Corporation facility. The water was
rendered unfit for human consumption (GMANews.TV, 21 March 2007).
Official documentation of water pollution shows that the major pollutants,
including BOD, DO, coliform, nitrates, and suspended solids, have increased
steadily in Philippine rivers. It was observed, however, that official Philippine
data tend to emphasize BOD and other biological pollutants to the exclusion of
other—more industrial and more toxic—pollutants, hence, do not clearly identify
concrete impacts of these more hazardous wastes on health and the
environment.
Toxic incidences and impacts of polluted water bodies only come to public
attention when a relatively huge number of the population is involved and if the
effects on health are graphic and immediate.
In 2007, a broad study was carried out by Greenpeace to investigate the quality
of various surface and ground water systems in four countries, including the
Philippines. Water from the systems investigated is known to be abstracted for
distribution as drinking water, generally following purification treatments that
include chlorination. Treated waters are supplied either via piped distribution
networks or as bottled water. However, many of these river and canal systems
also receive inputs of potentially contaminated wastewaters either from point
sources and/or diffuse run-off from agricultural land. These and other sources
may also be contributing to contamination of groundwater aquifers in their
vicinity, some of which are used untreated as drinking water. (See Annex 1)
In another Greenpeace report released in February 2007, water samples taken
from industrial estates in the Philippines were studied. The results showed
varying degrees of contamination from different hazardous chemicals, including
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals. VOCs are known to affect
the kidneys, the central nervous system and the liver, and are potentially
carcinogenic. All sites notably contained chlorinated VOCs, toxic solvents or
degreasers used in “cleaning” semiconductors and other electrical equipment.
Water samples taken from the Cavite Export Processing Zone (CEPZA) in
Rosario, Cavite, in particular, contained tetrachloroethene at nine times above
the WHO guidance values for exposure limits, and 70 times the US
Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level for drinking water.
Elevated levels of metals, particularly copper, nickel and zinc, were also found in
groundwater samples in other sites, also within the province (Cutting Edge
Contamination: A Study of Environmental Pollution during the manufacture of
Electronic Products, 2007). As yet, no health cases have been directly linked to
the contamination. (See also Annex 2).
However, The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nation’s
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in their publication “Promoting and Protecting Human
Health”, states that “(…) Anthropogenic chemical pollution of surface waters,
mainly by industry and agricultural runoff, is a health hazard, but the impacts on
GREENPEACE | The state of water in the Philippines 24