1. SURFACE WATERS

2. WHAT ARE SURFACE
WATERS?
Water collected on the
ground as in streams, rivers,
lakes, wetland or oceans are
surface waters.

3. WET
SURFACE LANDS
WATERS
STREAMS
LAKES RIVERS
OCEAN

5. Basic Information on
Surface-Water Quality
and Quantity

6. Surface-Water Quality Parameters
• Physical Parameters
Color, odor, temperature, solids (residues), turbidity, oil
content, and grease content.
• Chemical Parameters
- Organic Content: BOD, COD, TOC, TOD
- Inorganic Content: salinity, hardness, pH, acidity,
alkalinity, presence of substances.
• Biological Properties
- Bacteriological parameters: coliforms, fecal coliforms,
specific pathogens, and viruses.

7. Two Main Sources of Water Pollutants
• Non-point Sources
• Point Sources
• SURFACE-WATER POLLUTION – excessive
concentrations of particular substances for sufficient
periods of time to cause identifiable effects.

8. Surface-Water Contaminants
• SUSPENDED SOLIDS
- development of sludge deposits
• BIODEGRADABLE ORGANICS
- depletion of natural oxygen resources and septic
conditions
• PATHOGENS
- communicable diseases
• NUTRIENTS
- lead to growth of undesirable aquatic life
• PRIORITY POLLUTANTS
- carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, teratogenicity, or high
acute toxicity

9. • HEAVY METALS
- may have to be removed if the wastewater is to be
reused
• DISSOLVED INORGANICS
- may have to be removed if the wastewater is to be
reused

10. • Legislations Pertaining to
Surface- Water Quality

11. Philippine Surface Water
• Surface freshwater resources are found in rivers and lakes.
• There are 421 principal river basins in 119 proclaimed watersheds,
19 of which are identified as major river basins.
• The largest lakes in the principal islands are the Laguna de Bay
Lake Lanao in Mindanao, which is a major source of hydropower.
• The potential supply from surface water sources is estimated at
125,790 mcm per year.
• Philippines ranks among the lowest in terms of freshwater
availability per capita at 1,907 cubic meters, compared with the
average of 7,045 cubic meters worldwide and 3,668 cubic meters in
Asia
• The National Water Resources Board ("NWRB") is the lead
government agency in the Philippine water sector, conferred with
policy-making, regulatory and quasi-judicial functions

12. Water Quality regulations
(surface water)
• Standards are set for water quality
management
• PD 1152 (1977)/DAO 34(1993)

13. CAUSES OF SURFACE WATER
POLLUTION

14. Cause of Impairment Potential Source of Pollution
Sediment Construction and mining sites, disturbed land areas, streambank
erosion and alterations, cultivated farmland
Nutrients Fertilizer on agricultural, residential, commercial and recreational
lawns, animal wastes, effluent from aquaculture facilities, leaky
sewers and septic tanks, atmospheric deposition, municipal
wastewater
Toxic and Synthetic Pesticide applications, disinfectants (chlorine), automobile fluids,
Chemicals accidental spills, illegal dumping, urban stormwater runoff, industrial
effluent
Oxygen-Consuming Wastewater effluent, organic matter, leaking sewers and septic tanks,
Substances animal waste
Fecal Coliform Bacteria Failing septic tanks, animal waste, runoff from livestock operations,
wildlife, improperly disinfected wastewater effluent
Road Salt Applications to snow and ice
Oil and Grease Leaky automobiles, industrial areas, illegal dumping
Salinity Variations Hydrological modifications that influence the amount of fresh or
saline waters entering a system
Thermal Impacts Heated landscape areas, runoff from impervious areas, tree removal
along streams, wet detention ponds

15. Fecal Coliform Bacteria
• Fecal coliform bacteria are typically associated with the
intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals. They are
widely used as an indicator of the potential presence of
waterborne pathogenic, or disease-causing, bacteria and
viruses (e.g., those which cause such diseases as typhoid
fever, dysentery, and cholera) because they are easier
and less costly to detect than the actual pathogens.

16. Toxic Substances
• any substance or combination of substances which after
discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation, or
assimilation into any organism, either directly from the
environment or indirectly by ingestion through food
chains, has the potential to cause death, disease,
behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations,
physiological malfunctions (including malfunctions or
suppression in reproduction or growth) or physical
deformities in such organisms or their offspring or other
adverse health effects".

17. • Dioxin
• Metals
• Chlorine
• Ammonia (NH3)

18. Oxygen-Consuming Wastes
•Oxygen-consuming wastes include decomposing
organic matter or chemicals which reduce dissolved
oxygen in the water column through chemical reactions
or biological activity. Sources of dissolved oxygen
depletion include wastewater treatment plant effluent,
the decomposition of organic matter (such as leaves,
dead plants and animals) and organic waste matter that
is washed or discharged into the water. Sewage from
human and household wastes is high in organic waste
matter, as is waste from trout farms. Bacterial
decomposition can rapidly deplete dissolved oxygen
levels unless these wastes are adequately treated at a
wastewater treatment plant.

19. Nutrients
• The term nutrients in this document refers to two major
plant nutrients, phosphorus and nitrogen. These are
common components of fertilizers, animal and human
wastes, vegetation, effluent from aquaculture facilities
and some industrial processes. Nutrients in surface
waters come from both point and nonpoint sources.
Nutrients are beneficial to aquatic life in small amounts.
However, in over-abundance and under favorable
conditions, they can stimulate the occurrence of algal
blooms and excessive plant growth in quiet waters such
as ponds, lakes, reservoirs, creeks, rivers and estuaries.

20. Effects of Salinity
• in salinity as little as 2-3 ppt above current levels have
the potential to drastically affect the abundance of many
species of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). The
overall abundance and diversity of species of SAV have
been key factors in maintaining the rich natural
resources . significant declines in SAV in the sound have
coincided with declines in the largemouth bass
populations and in wintering waterfowl populations that
depend on it for food.

21. Sedimentation
• Sedimentation is the most widespread cause of nonpoint
source pollution in the state and results from land-
disturbing activities including agriculture, building and
highway construction, uncontrolled urban runoff which
erodes streambanks, mining and timber harvesting. The
concentration of suspended sediments affects the
availability of light for photosynthesis, as well as the
ability of aquatic animals to see their prey.

22. Point Sources
• Point sources refers to discharges that enter surface
waters through a pipe, ditch or other well-defined point
of discharge. Wastewater point source discharges include
municipal (city and county) and industrial wastewater
treatment plants and small domestic wastewater
treatment systems that may serve schools, commercial
offices, residential subdivisions and individual homes.
The primary pollutants associated with point source
discharges are oxygen-demanding wastes, nutrients,
sediment, color and toxic substances including chlorine,
ammonia and metals.

23. Non – Point Source
• Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution refers to runoff that
enters surface waters through stormwater, snowmelt or
atmospheric deposition (e.g., acid rain). There are many
types of land use activities that can serve as sources of
nonpoint source pollution including land development,
construction, mining operations, crop production,
animal feeding lots, timber harvesting, failing septic
systems, landfills, roads and parking lots.

27. • Agriculture
• Urban/Residential
• Onsite Wastewater Disposal
• Construction
• Timber Harvesting
• Mining
• Solid Waste Disposal

29. CONCLUSION
Clearly, the problems associated with water pollution have the
capabilities to disrupt life on our planet to a great extent. Congress
has passed laws to try to combat water pollution thus acknowledging
the fact that water pollution is, indeed, a seriousissue. But the
government alone cannot solve the entire problem. It is ultimately
up to us, to be informed, responsible and involved when it comes to
the problems we face with our water. We must become familiar with
our local water resources and learn about ways for disposing
harmful household wastes so they don?t end up in sewage treatment
plants that can?t handle them or landfills not designed to receive
hazardous materials. In our yards, we must determine whether
additional nutrients are needed before fertilizers are applied, and
look for alternatives where fertilizers might run off into surface
waters. We have to preserve existing trees and plant new trees and
shrubs to help prevent soil erosion and promote infiltration of water
into the soil. Around our houses, we must keep litter, pet waste,
leaves, and grass clippings out of gutters and storm drains.

30. These are just a few of the many ways in which we, as humans, have
the ability to combat water pollution. As we head into the 21st
century, awareness and education will most assuredly continue to be
the two most important ways to prevent water pollution. If these
measures are not taken and water pollution continues, life on earth
will suffer severely. Global environmental collapse is not inevitable.
But the developed world must work with the developing world to
ensure that new industrialized economies do not add to the world's
environmental problems. Politicians must think of sustainable
development rather than economic expansion. Conservation
strategies have to become more widely accepted, and people must
learn that energy use can be dramatically diminished without
sacrificing comfort. In short, with the technology that currently
exists, the years of global environmental mistreatment can begin to
be reversed.

31. ITS A
CHOICE