MANILA, Philippines - Even though the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) saw a slight improvement in the water quality of rivers, at least 10 out of 19 major river basins in the country remain polluted, a DENR senior official reported.
DENR Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Demetrio Ignacio Jr. said 10 out of the 19 major rivers in the country are polluted because of the high levels of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)-the standard measurement of pollution in the water.
The standard level for Class C water, or water suitable for boating activities, propagation of fish and aquatic resources, and manufacturing processes for industries, is not more than 7 milligrams per liter (mg/L).
Ignacio said the rivers that remain polluted are Meycauayan, Marilao, and Bocaue Rivers in Central Luzon; Calapan River in Oriental Mindoro; Anayan River in Camarines Sur; Iloilo River in Iloilo; Luyang and Sapangdaku River in Central Visayas; Balili River in the Cordillera Autonomous Region; and Parañaque River in the National Capital Region.
He pointed out that in 2009, BOD in these rivers ranged from 2.48 milligrams per liter to as high as 126.27 mg/L, which is over 1,000 percent beyond the standard of <7 mg/L.
However, Ignacio noted that water pollution was reduced by almost 10 percent from 28.84 milligrams per liter in the first half of 2010 to 26.08 mg/L along the 10 major polluted rivers in the country.
The DENR undersecretary attributed the improvement in the rivers' water quality to the business sector's support to the government to clean up the country's waterways.
"There was also increased awareness and concern to clean and protect the environment," he added.
Ignacio said the implementation of the Adopt-an-Estero program, a public-private partnership on the cleanup of creeks and polluted rivers, helped improve the state of rivers nationwide.
