Water Pollution

                                                                                                               

    (Assessment of Pasig River and Manila Bay)

PASIG RIVER (BEFORE AND AFTER) 

The Pasig River, is a river in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for 25 kilometers (15.5 mi), it is lined by Mero Manila on each side. Its major tributaries are the Marikina River and San Juan River.

                                               Before the mass urbanization of Manila, the Pasig River served as an important means of transport; it was the city's lifeline and center of economic activity. Some of the most prominent kingdoms in early Philippine History, including the kingdoms of Namalayan Manila, and tondo grew up along the banks of the river, drawing their life and source of wealth from it. When the Spanish established Manila as the capital of their colonial properties in the Far East, they built the walled city of Intramuros on the southern bank of Pasig River near its mouth.

After World War II, massive population growth, infrastructure construction, and the dispersal of economic activities to Manila's suburbs left the river neglected. The banks of the river attracted informal settlers and the remaining factories dumped their wastes into the river, making it effectively a huge sewer system. Industrialization had already polluted the river.In the 1930s, observers noticed the increasing pollution of the river, as fish migration from Laguna de Bay diminished. People ceased using the river's water for laundering in the 1960s, and ferry transport declined. By the 1970s, the river started to emanate offensive smells, and in the 1980s, fishing in the river was prohibited. By the 1990s, the Pasig River was considered biologically dead.

Future Pasig River

Efforts to revive the river began in December 1989 with the help of Danish authorities. The Pasig River Rehabilitation Program (PRRP) was established, with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as the main agency with the coordination of the Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA).
In 1999, President Joseph Esrada signed Executive Order No. 54 establishing the PRRC to replace the old PRRP with additional expanded powers such as managing of wastes and resettling of squatters.
The PPRC perspective sketch design of the Pasig River in the future.

Manila Bay (BEFORE AND AFTER)

Manila Bay was connected to Laguna Lake (or Laguna de Bai) approximately 3,000 years ago. Recurring episodic uplifts along the West Marikina Valley Fault caused the two to break up. Interaction between Manila Bay and Laguna Lake occurs only through Pasig River.

With then Mayor Lito Atienza's program Buhayin ang Maynila (Revitalize Manila), in 2002, the local government made the initiative of enhancing the seaside promenade of Manila through urban renewal, upkeep and improvements. What later became known as Baywalk, the facelift of the 2 km strip of central public space aimed at creating a venue for social interaction and recreation.

With the presence of ports, sea-based sources of pollution around the bay are from ships and motorized boats. Twelve oil spills were recorded in 1995, but it was in 1999 where the highest total volume of oil spill occurred in the Manila South Harbor and Limay, Bataan. Increased presence of oil and grease in the waters are attributed to maritime activities at the harbors, together with the presence of oil terminals and the discharges from industries. These factors directly impacted the health of Manila Bay's waters.

And until now i am still hoping that someday we can have the clean and peaceful environment we've been dreaming for the sake of all the people, animals, natural resources and to the next generation.