Characterizing The Water Quality of The Cagayan
Characterizing The Water Quality of The Cagayan
Characterizing The Water Quality of The Cagayan
Keywords: ABSTRACT
pollution, river, wastewater, The study assessed the water quality of the Cagayan River as
water quality characterized by physical and chemical parameters to provide baseline
information for the local government to implement stricter measures on
wastewater management and in order to prevent remarkable contamination
of the renowned longest river in the country. The grab method of specimen
sampling was used in different stations with three strata. The obtained
results of the physical and chemical properties of the river were compared
to water quality standards set by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources (BFAR) and the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR). The assessment showed that the Cagayan River in
the study site is contaminated with ammonia that is remarkably high and
denotes high level of nutrients from wastewater disposed into the river.
Anthropogenic activities largely contribute to the change of river water
quality. Hence, the study site is predisposed to pollution. Local dwellers
and agencies in different sectors advocating care for the environment
are encouraged to take aggressive actions to minimize the direct inflow
of waste water into the river in order to control the increasing nutrient
deposition that will bring a subsequent death of a river.
C
remaining primary forests in the Philippines.
agayan River is the longest in the It supports the lives of numerous endemic
Philippines. Its head waters start at and endangered species, like the rare fish,
the Caraballo Mountains near the locally called ludong or lobed river mullet
boundary of the present provinces of Nueva and also called president’s fish. Other fishes
Vizcaya, Quirino, Nueva Ecija, and Aurora. like itobi, aguat, maningat, and bukasing
Moving north, the Cagayan River runs for as named by yogads, the native tribe of the
some 450 km, growing stronger as it gathers municipality of Echague, recall that these
more waters from the mountains of the fishes were present along the stretch of the
Cordillera and Sierra Madre until it ends to Cagayan River in such town in the decade of
the sea in Aparri, Cagayan (Gonzales and 70’s but have disappeared starting in the 80’s.
Cuevas, 2017). Its tributaries have deposited The disappearance of these fishes could be
sediments of tertiary and quaternary origin, hypothesized as the effect of fishing patterns
mostly limestone sands and clays, throughout and practices, the possible invasion of other
the relatively flat Cagayan Valley which is species that prey on them or the increasing
surrounded by the mountains of the Cordillera effluents and waste water disposed of the river
in the west, Sierra Madre in the east and water from industrial, domestic, municipal,
the Caraballo Mountains in the south. The and agricultural activities. The waste water
Figure 1. The three sampling stations: 1) the catchment area for industrial wastewater coming
from a feed processing plant and cornfields along the riparian zone, 2) the catchment
area for domestic and agricultural wastewater, and 3) the area where wastewater from
municipal (commercial activities) and agriculture is disposed.
NVSU Research Journal Vol. III, No. 1, January - June 2016 19
were noted and computed to derive the each sampling station.
transparency reading of the water. Ammonia, pH, and nitrite were
Odor. The odor of the water was measured using standard laboratory
evaluated by a trained staff of the Bureau of procedures utilizing reagents specified in the
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). water analysis kit of the Bureau of Fisheries
The evaluation made use of the form for and Aquatic Resources, San Mateo station.
describing odor adapted from Estrada (2001).
Each of the water samples was described
following the legend below: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Table 4. The physical characteristics of the three waste water catchment areas
Physical Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Average Standard Remarks
Temperature 26.63°C 26.93°C 27.6°C 27.05°C *25-31°C Passed
Transparency 32 cm 50 cm 75 cm 52.33 cm 20-40 cm Failed
Odor 3 3 2 2.67 0 Failed
Color (on site) a a a a a Passed
Legend
Odor: 0- no odor detected; 1-very faint; 2-faint; 3-distinct; 4-decided; 5-very strong
Color: a- no abnormal discoloration from unnatural causes; x- with abnormal discoloration
*- standard set in DENR Administrative Order No.8. 2016
Table 5. The chemical characteristics of the three waste water catchment areas
Chemical Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Average Normal limit* Remarks
(mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L)
Ammonia 1.67 1.03 0.67 1.12 0.05 Failed
pH 7.5 7.83 8.5 7.94 6.5-9 Passed
Dissolved Oxygen 5.1 5.3 5.03 5.14 5 (minimum) Passed
Nitrite 0.04 0.037 0.037 0.038 <0.1 Passed
*DENR Administrative Order No. 34. 1990 and DENR Administrative Order 08. 2016.