Republic of the Philippines

President Ramon Magsaysay State University

(Formerly Ramon Magsaysay Technological University)
Iba, Zambales, Philippines
Tel/Fax No.: (047) 811-1683
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

College of Engineering/Department of Civil Engineering

CE 322: HYDROLOGY
2nd Semester of A.Y. 2020-2021

MODULE 7 – ROLE OF HYDROLOGY IN WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND

MANAGEMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES

Introduction

The importance of hydrology is increasing because of the global growth of water needs and
the rise of water scarcity, which together cause greater risk and unreliability in water
resources management. The basic task of hydrology, which is fundamental for water
resources management, is the accurate definition and control of the water balance for
different space and time increments. The water balance equation is simple, but until now
there are many unsolved problems surrounding it, such as: the definition of catchment
boundaries and areas, the accuracy of point precipitation measurement and the
assessment of areal precipitation, the accuracy of actual areal évapotranspiration etc.
Modern computer and numerically oriented hydrology tries to use most new scientific
approaches, methods and technologies.

Hydrology has to be loyal to its basic principles and roots, in order to be able to answer the
complex challenges of water resources management which will come in the future. As
water management is an interdisciplinary task, hydrology should be more connected with
the other scientific disciplines and professions involved. Hydrology urgently needs close co-
operation with many other human activities, especially those concerned with environmental
issues.

Intended Learning Outcomes

This module aims for learners:
 To cite current problems in watershed management and watershed protection in our
country.
 To cite and identify the agencies involved in the collection of hydrologic data in the
Philippines.
 To define the role of Hydrology in water resources planning and management in the
Philippines.

Learning Activities
Watch the following videos:
1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82ihRJaSq2U
2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l1gNtrBQMI

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 Content

1. PHILIPPINE WATER RESOURCES

2. AGENCIES INVOLVED IN WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

National Water Resources Board (NWRB)

- was created in 1974 as the authoritative national organization to coordinate and
integrate all activities in water resources development and management.
- Its main objective is to achieve scientific and orderly development and management
of all the water resources of the Philippines consistent with the principles of optimum
usage, conservation and protection to meet present and future needs.
- The mantle of authority of NWRB is derived from Presidential Decree (PD) 424 (NWRC
Charter), PD 1067 (Water Code of the Philippines) and PD 1206 (Water Utilities).

Fragmentation among water-related agencies is evident in three areas of concern: water

supply and distribution, economic and resource regulation, and planning and policy
formulation.

The following agencies are involved in water supply and distribution:

- Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Services (MWSS) and its two concessionaires
(after it was privatized in 1997) for Metro Manila, servicing 62.68 percent of its total
population;

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 - Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) and its water district offices for other cities
and municipalities, servicing 58 percent of the total urban population within its area
of responsibility; and
- Departments of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Public Works and Highway
(DPWH) and local governments which manage community water systems (usually
involving point sources and piped systems with communal faucets), servicing 86.85
percent of the country’s rural population.

The following agencies have the same function as resource regulators:

- Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) formulates policies for
the enforcement of environmental protection and pollution control regulations. It is
primarily responsible for the preservation of watershed areas and ensures water
quality with respect to rivers, streams and other sources of water.
- Department of Health (DOH) is responsible for drinking water quality regulation and
supervision of general sanitation activities.
As for planning and policy formulation:
- National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) – serves as the highest socio-
economic planning and policymaking agency of government.
- NWRB
- LWUA and local government units.

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3. HOW DECISIONS AND ACTIONS ON WATER ARE MADE IN THE PHILIPPINES

 There is a multiplicity of institutions—organizations and regulations— governing water and

its uses in the country;

 The authority and jurisdiction of water institutions differ in terms of a hierarchy of their
coverage:
 Some are national (e.g., National Water Resources Board [NWRB], Bureau of Soils
and Water Management [BSWM], Department of Environment and Natural
Resources [DENR]) while others are subnational and local (e.g., Metropolitan
Waterworks and Sewerage System [MWSS], water districts).
 Others are global, which have acquired legal authority in the Philippines through
treaty ratification. They, too, affect water decisions and actions in the country
(e.g., the Ramsar Convention);

 The mandates of the institutions differ:

 Some are statutory (prescribed by law, e.g., MWSS, NWRB, BSWM, DENR, water
districts)
 Others are customary (or are creations of tradition or local social arrangements,
e.g., irrigation associations);

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  Water institutions differ in terms of the sectors they represent:
 Some are state agencies (e.g., NWRB, BSWM, DENR,MWSS)
 Others are community or civil society groups (i.e., nonstate organizations like
irrigation associations, farmers’ associations,consumer groups, nongovernment
organizations [NGOs] and peoples’ organizations [POs], private business groups
[PBGs] and research and academic institutions [RAIs])
 Some have legal personality ascribed to it by the state such as farmers’
associations given water rights under the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization
Act (AFMA), or NGOs and Pos given official capacities in the national planning
process like the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD).

4. WATER GOVERNANCE SPACE IN THE PHILIPPINES (Malayang 2004)

 Multiple institutions operating in different hierarchies of authority (multilevel), and from

different sectoral perspectives (multisectoral) and multi-thematic (covering a range of
technical, social, economic, and political concerns on water).

 A complex dynamics of powers of water institutions with different range and intensities of
power—mainly emanating from their legitimacy, public trust, and credibility—are the
consequences of their transparency, level of accountability, and breadth of
participatory decision making and action taking on water.

5. PLAN 21
Plan 21 states that the long-term strategy in water resources planning for the different regions
of the country is based on the following principles:
a) Water is a limited resource that must be conserved and managed efficiently; and
b) Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and shall be treated as a
commodity with an economic value; thus capacity and willingness to pay must be
taken into consideration when pricing water.

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Thus, water governance should not be distinguished between surface water and
groundwater governance.

Water Governance Hinges on IWRM as shown by the Hydrologic/

Hydraulic Process of A Water Resources System

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 Water Governance and IWRM : Science, DSS, Public Policy and Management Decisions
(after Georgakakos)

6. CRITICAL TASKS OF HYDROLOGY

Hydrology can help to bridge the gap between the humanities, science, and society.

The basic role of hydrology, which is fundamental for water resources management, is the
accurate definition and understanding of the water balance for different space and time
increments. The water balance equation is, of course, simple. The problem is in its
application, because it has a number of aspects which are not fully understood and
because some basic variables and parameters are poorly measured and/or not estimated
accurately. The improvement of this situation is a critical task for hydrologists and, at the
same time, for water resources managers.

The ultimate goal of data collection in hydrology, be it in precipitation measurements,

water-level recordings, discharge gaugings, groundwater monitoring and water quality
sampling, is to provide a set of sufficient good quality data that can be used in decision-

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 making in all aspects of water resources management, in the wide range of operational
applications as well as in research.

Three matters demand attention in particular.

1) Catchment Boundaries and the Catchment Area
The determination of the catchment boundaries and the catchment area is the
starting point in many hydrological analyses. These are among the essential data
which serve as a basis for many calculations for hydrological and water resources
management purposes (Bonacci, 1987).

2) Precipitation
The starting point for most hydrological determinations related to the water balance
is knowledge of the amount and distribution of precipitation with respect to time and
space.

3) Evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration is the combined consumptive-evaporative process by which
water is released to the atmosphere through vegetation, soil and from a free water
surface. The determination of the exact values of the potential and actual
évapotranspiration is essential for the water balance calculation.

References

1. Water Governance in the Philippines.

http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/groundwatergovernance/docs/Shijiazhuan
g/Presentations-PDFs/Day3/PS8_TABIOS_Philippines.pdf
2. The Philippines: Formulation of a National Water Vision
http://www.fao.org/3/AB776E/ab776e03.htm

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