WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT AREAS

Section 5 of RA 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 tasked the DENR in coordination with the National Water Resources Board to designate certain areas as water quality management areas (WQMA) using appropriate physiographic units such as watershed, river basins or water resources regions.

 

The objective of the WQMA is to protect, thru stakeholders collaboration, the water body and its tributaries by keeping their water quality within the Water Quality Guidelines or Criteria conforming to the water body’s classification (e.g., Class C or Class SC) or even improve the quality to higher classification (e.g., from C to B or SC to SB).  A WQMA Action Plan will be prepared in order to address water quality issues and problems in the area and later result to the improvement or better water quality of the said water body.

Water Quality Management Area Map as of August 1, 2018

 

 

 

Said management area shall be governed by a governing board composed of representatives of mayors and governors of member LGUs, and representatives of relevant national government agencies, duly registered nongovernmental organization, water utility sector, and business sector. The DENR representative through the EMB shall chair the governing board. In the case of the LGUs with memberships on more than one (1) management board, the LGU shall designate only one (1) single representative for all the management areas where it is a member.

As of August 1, 2018, there are thirty-seven (37) officially- designated WQMAs, including the areas within the jurisdiction of LLDA which was designated as one management area by virtue of the Clean Water Act.

WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT AREAS

No. Region Name of WQMA Classification
1 CAR Balili River Class A
2 Bued River Class C
3 Upper Amburayan River System Class B
4 NCR San Juan River System Class C
5 Las Piñas-Parañaque River System Class C
6 Malabon-Navotas-Tullahan-Tinajeros River System Class C
7 1 Naguilian River System Class C
8 Sinocalan-Dagupan River System Class C
9 Lower Amburayan River System Class C
10 2 Pinacanauan de Tuguegarao River Upstream – Class B

Downstream – Class C
11 Calao-Deliquente-Diadi River System Class C
12 3 Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando River System Class C
13 4A Imus-Ylang Ylang-Rio Grande Rivers Class C
14 Cañas-Maalimango Rivers Class C
15 Iyam-Dumacaa Rivers Class C
16 4B Calapan River Class C
17 Coron Bay Class SB
18 Sabang Bay Class SB
19 5 Naga River Watershed Class C
20 Lake Buhi Watershed Class B
21 6 Tigum-Aganan Watershed Class C
22 Iloilo-Batiano River System Class C
23 Jalaur River System Class C – Stations 1-8  (Leganes to Calinog Bridge)

Class A – Station 9-10 (Alibunan Confluence and Alibunan Upstream)
24 7 Butuanon River Watershed Class D
25 8 Ormoc Bay and its Associated Watersheds Class SC
26 Dupong, Matlang and Merida Class SC
27 9

 

 Tumaga River Upstream – Class A

Midstream – Class B

Downstream – Class C
28 Ayala River Upstream – Class A

Downstream – Class B
29 10 Cagayan de Oro River Basin and Adjacent Rivers Iponan River and CDO River – Class A

Bigaan, Cugman, Umalag, Agusan and Alae Rivers – Class A & C

Macajalar Bay – Class SB & SC
30 Tagoloan River Basin all inland waters (main TR and tributary rivers) within TRB WQMA – Class A

Macajalar Bay – Class SC
31 11 Talomo River Class B
32 Davao River Class B   –  Stations 1-4a

Class A   –  Stations 5-11
33 12 Sarangani Bay Class SB – Stations 1-3 and 14-18

Class SC – Stations 4-13a
34 Silway River Class C
35 Lake Sebu Stations 1-6 as Class C,

Stations 7-10 as Class B.
36 13 Taguibo River Upper Portion as Class “A”

Middle Portion as Class “C”

Lower Portion as Class “D”