Water

Pollution

Definition
Water Pollution
- is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes,
rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater).
- it means one or more substances have built up in
water to such an extent that they cause problems
for animals or people. Oceans, lakes, rivers, and
other inland waters can naturally clean up a certain
amount of pollution by dispersing it harmlessly.

Water pollution is all about quantities: how much of

a polluting substance is released and how big a
volume of water it is released into.
Any change or modification in the physical,
chemical and biological properties of water that
will have a detrimental consequence on living
things, is water pollution.

- A 1969 United Nations report defined ocean

pollution as:
The introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances
or energy into the marine environment (including estuaries)
resulting in such deleterious effects as harm to living
resources, hazards to human health, hindrance to marine
activities, including fishing, impairment of quality for use of
sea water and reduction of amenities.

History
Early forms of water pollution were usually due to
contamination from human and animal waste, which
caused major outbreaks of diseases like cholera. After
the Industrial Revolution, new manufacturing and
mining processes caused toxic chemicals to be dumped
into lakes and rivers at a high rate. Several bodies of
water became so polluted that they caught fire.
However, even in ancient times industries like textile
dye factories and tanneries were known for causing
water pollution.

Causes &
Effects
Causes

Sewage
Nutrients
Waste Water
Chemical Waste
Radioactive Waste
Oil Pollution
Plastics
Alien Species

Effects

Aquatic diseases and

deformities
Human health issues
Eutrophication

Types/source
s
Water pollution can come from a number of different
sources. If the pollution comes from a single source,
such as an oil spill, it is called point-source pollution. If
the pollution comes from many sources, it is called
nonpoint-source pollution. Most types of pollution
affect the immediate area surrounding the source.
Sometimes the pollution may affect the environment
hundreds of miles away from the source, such as
nuclear waste, this is called transboundary pollution.

Types/sources
Point sources
refers to
contaminants that
enter a waterway
from a single,
identifiable
source, such as a
pipe or ditch.

Non-point
sources
refers to diffuse
contamination
that does not
originate from a
single discrete
source.

Groundwater
pollution
occurs when
pollutants are
released to the
ground and make
their way down into
groundwater.

Types/source
s
Surface water
pollution
pollution that affects
surface waters such
as huge oceans,
lakes, & rivers.

Transboundary
pollution
pollution that enters
the environment in
one place has an
effect hundreds or
even thousands of
miles away

Nonpoint
sources vs point
sources

Surface and
groundwater pollution

Laws/progra
ms

Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (Republic Act No.

9275) aims to protect the countrys water bodies
from pollution from land-based sources. The DENR is
the lead agency that is mandated explicitly by the
Clean Water Act to take the lead role in ensuring the
implementation of the law. It has been tasked to
develop policies and guidelines in support to the
implementation of the CWA.

Laws/progra
ms

Sagip ilog programs - LGUs, NGOs and other interest

groups
The Linis Estero Program is a collaborative undertaking
between and among the Estero Community, DonorPartner, Local Government Unit/s and the DENR.
Enforcement of effluent standards: DENR A0 35, Series
of 19990

End of
Presentation
Any questions ?