Regional Science High School for NCR

Quezon City Science High School

A Comparative Study between the Water

Spinach’s and the Water Hyacinth’s Ability
To Purify Water from Pasig River Tributaries to
be used in Agricultural Irrigation

Proponents:

Soriano, Daniel V., Tamondong, Alyssa Jeanne C., Aquino, Antoinette Nicole R.

Zapiter, Patricia C.

Pinero, Hanna Mae O.

 Chapter I

Introduction
Background of the Study

In 1999, a major concern of the country, Pasig River started rehabilitation. The
aforementioned body of water has become a burden in the water industry. The river is still
undergoing the process of redevelopment and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission has
been focusing on the main river alone and has lost sight of its connecting esteros. These narrow
waterways are still barren because of very high lead contents in the water which poisoned the
creatures inhabiting them. Since its rehabilitation in 1999, these esteros have not been taken
care of and are now causing more and more floods to the majority of NCR. This study plans to
make use of these stagnant estero waters for irrigation purposes in the country. If only these
waterways may be connected to those irrigational systems in nearby provinces, the water
which is stored and useless can finally be put to use.

Another problem that these waterways are facing is its high heavy metal content. Heavy
metals, when ingested, both by animals and humans have severe harmful effects to the body,
especially to the nervous system. This makes water from these esteros unusable for irrigations.
One known blockade in the area is the water hyacinth. These species are very abundant and are
now causing hindrances for water to flow easily and smoothly. Another blockade to this water
system is the Ipomoea aquatica (commonly kangkong). Recent studies have found that these
two species have high absorption abilities for heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium
which are toxic to the body.

This study will be conducted to assess which of these two species can absorb more
heavy metals than the other so that these futile tributaries can be useful and convenient
especially for the upcoming dry season.

Objectives of the Study

General objective

This study aims to know which between the two species, the water spinach and the water
hyacinth is more capable of absorbing the heavy metals that the Pasig river water contains to
the extent that it can be agriculturally potent and helpful. Also, this study intends to connect
the unproductive parts of the river to major irrigational systems located near it. On another
outlook, this study purposes to find a better usage for the aforementioned species which only
block the waterways and clog the drainage system.
Specific Objective

1. Determine the amount of heavy metals accumulated by Water Hyacinth and Water
Spinach
2. Compare the amount of heavy metals accumulated by the two test subjects.
3. Characterize the purified water in terms of the following parameters:
a. Total Dissolved Solid
b. Hardness
c. PH
d. Salinity Hazard
e. Sodium Hazard (Sodium Adsorption Ration or SAR)
f. Carbonate and Bicarbonates in relation with the Ca & Mg content
g. Other trace elements
h. Toxic anions

Statement of the Problem

Main Problem:

The main problem of the study is to determine and compare which of the two test
subjects – Ipomoea Aquatica (Water Spinach) or Eichhornia crassipes (Water Hyacinth) has the
appropriate ability to purify water from the Pasig river that will be used for agricultural
irrigations.

Sub problems:

 Is there a certain amount of heavy metals the experimental subjects can purify?
 Will there be other wastes that aside from heavy metals that will be accumulated by the
two test subjects?

Significance of the Study

This study regarding the absorbent abilities of the two species, water hyacinths and I.
aquatica can be a stepping stone for further rehabilitation and redevelopment of other water
tributaries which have been abandoned due to lack of government funds and commissions. This
study will also benefit the people living nearby Pasig River and its tributaries. It can help them
rid of worries and inconveniences of living near the tributaries. This will also help the
irrigational systems in times of scarcity, drought or El Nino occurrences.

Also, this product can be distributed nationwide. The water hyacinths and I. aquatica
which inhabit Pasig River may be exported to places in the locality where there are few of
them. This may help solve the problems in excessive productions of the two species and at the
same time help those in need of heavy metal purifiers in the middle and southern regions of the
country.

Scope and Limitations

This study will only use water samples from Pasig River tributaries and test them for
heavy metal contents only. Other factors such as salinity, alkalinity, density, etc will not be
considered in any way, although results may be replicated to other unusable water formations
in the Philippines with high heavy metal content. This study is also limited only to those water
samples with heavy metal situations.

Only the genus of the species I. aquatica and the water hyacinth will be put to the test.
Other abilities of both plants which may foil the experiment will not be attended to. The set-
ups, all in all with a 9 gallon water sample, will be done by the experimenters under a
controlled time frame of 1 month and with a control group which receives no treatment at all.

Definition of Terms

 Alkalinity: a total measure of the substances in water that have "acid-neutralizing"

ability
 Absorbent: able to take in and hold liquid
 Irrigation: is the artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the
growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed
soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall.
 Purification: is the process of rendering something pure, i.e. clean of foreign elements
and/or pollution
 Remediator: the action of remedying something, in particular of reversing or
stopping environmental damage.
 Water hyacinth: Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as water hyacinth, is an aquatic
plant native to the Amazon basin, and is often considered a highly problematic invasive
species outside its native range.
 Water spinach: Ipomoea aquatica is a semiaquatic, tropical plant grown as a vegetable
for its tender shoots and leaves.
 Chapter II

Review Of Related Literature

WATER HYACINTH

Eichhornia azurea, Eichhornia crassipes)

Water hyacinth is an aquatic plant which can

live and reproduce floating freely on the surface of
fresh waters or can be anchored in mud. Plant size
ranges from a few inches to a meter in height. Its rate
of proliferation under certain circumstances is
extremely rapid and it can spread to cause infestations
over large areas of water causing a variety of problems.
It grows in mats up to 2 meters thick which can reduce
light and oxygen, change water chemistry, affect flora
and fauna and cause significant increase in water loss
due to evapo-transpiration. It also causes practical
problems for marine transportation, fishing and at
intakes for hydro power and irrigation schemes. It is
now considered a serious threat to biodiversity.

The plant is a perennial aquatic herb (Eichhornia crassipes) which belongs to the family
Pontedericeae, closely related to the Liliaceae (lily family). The mature plant consists of long,
pendant roots, rhizomes, stolons, leaves, inflorescences and fruit clusters. The plants are up to
1 meter high although 40cm is the more usual height. The inflorescence bears 6 - 10 lily-like
flowers, each 4 - 7cm in diameter.  The stems and leaves contain air-filled tissue which give the
plant its considerable buoyancy. The vegetation reproduction is asexual and takes place at a
rapid rate under preferential conditions.

Problem

Water hyacinth can cause a variety of problems when its rapid mat-like proliferation covers
areas of fresh water.

Access to harbors and docking areas can be seriously hindered by mats of water hyacinth.
Canals and freshwater rivers can become impassable as they clog up with densely intertwined
carpets of the weed. It is also becoming a serious hazard to lake transport on Lake Victoria as
large floating islands of water hyacinth form, while many of the inland waterways of south East
Asia have been all but abandoned.
Water hyacinth can grow so densely that a human being can walk on it. When it takes hold in
rivers and canals it can become so dense that it forms a herbivorous barrage and can cause
damaging and dangerous flooding.

Water hyacinth can present many problems for the fisherman. Access to sites becomes difficult
when weed infestation is present, loss of fishing equipment often results when nets or lines
become tangled in the root systems of the weed and the result of these problems is more often
than not a reduction in catch and subsequent loss of livelihood. In areas where fishermen eke a
meagre living from their trade, this can present serious socio-economic problems.

Ability

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (  Mart.) Solms) is known as a voracious weed, which
causes blocks in waterways and disturbs the aquatic life. But, water hyacinth has been shown to
be an effective remediator of heavy metal contaminated soils. By treating the waste water in
constructed wetlands and use of sterile strains we can prevent its endemic spread. The
harvested water hyacinth can be used for many purposes like for producing biogas, paper    6
making, and fodder supplement. Some studies say that pulp can also be fabricated into
hardboard, ceiling board, reinforced cement board, water proofing sheets and damp proof
bitumenised papers for foundations of buildings. But the amount of accumulation in to the
plant parts must be taken care while going for re use of these plant parts. 

WATER SPINACH

(Ipomoea repens Roth, I. reptans Poiret, Convolvulus repens Vahl)

Water spinachs are perennial or occasionally

annual. Stems trailing or erect, emergent or en.wikipedia.org

floating, when in water usually thick and spongy

and rooting at the nodes. Leaves alternate,
petiolate; blades variable, cordate of sagitate to
triangular or linear. Its inflorescence auxiliary that
are 1- to few-flowered, cymose. Sepals 5, free,
persisting in fruit. It has 5 petals that are united,
large, funnel-shaped, purple to almost white, often
with a purple or ink centre. It has 5 stamens that
are inserted at the base of and much shorter than the petals. Ovary superior, of 2 united
carpels; style 1, simple; fruit a capsule, either 4-valved or splitting irregularly; seeds 4 or less.

I. aquatica typically has a lianoid, prostrate growth form, but has been noted to climb vertically,
overtopping and twining around other plants (Sharma, 1994). The leaves are alternate, often
lanceolate to hastate, with acute tips but leaf shape is highly variable (Sharma, 1994). There are
two basic forms of I. aquatica that are recognized worldwide: a red form, with red-purple
tinged stems, dark green leaves and petioles and pale pink to lilac colored flowers; and a white
form, with green stems, green leaves with green/white petioles and white flowers. In Florida,
two floating wild biotypes and at least one ‘upland’ cultivated form have been described. The
upland cultivar is sometimes known as Ipomoea reptans.

Ability

It locally known as “kangkong” or water spinach, is a herbaceous perennial trailing vine.  It has
hollow stems that grow floating or prostrate. The roots from the nodes penetrate the soil or
mud, and the leaves are simple and alternate. This plant species grows well as a crop in regions
where the mean temperature is above 25°C (Patnaik 1976). Hence, the Philippines is a
conducive environment for water spinach to flourish.  The common variety of the water spinach
found in the Philippines which is studied here, grows in water.  Its rapid form of reproduction is
asexually through vegetative fragmentation. Roots that are formed from the nodes grow into
independent plants when separated Ipomoea aquatica Forsk. (Water spinach) may contain
metals that are within the toxic levels for humans. The bottom of the edible portion of the plant
should be removed to minimize Pb intake.  Short Communication and carried by water, animals,
and man, and become established easily in new places (Patnaik 1976).

The young stems and leaves particularly the  upper 30-40 cm which are used as vegetable are
good  sources of minerals like iron, and vitamins A, C, and E  (National Academy of Sciences
1976). Other uses of this  plant species include: feeds for livestock, purgatives, diuretics,
treatment for gastric and intestinal disorder,  and water quality regulator (National Academy of
Sciences 1976; Abe et al. 1992).

PASIG RIVER

The Pasig River (Filipino: Ilog Pasig, Spanish: Río

4.bp.blogspot.com
Pásig), 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 Metro Manila on each side. Its major
tributaries are the Marikina River and San Juan River.

The Pasig River is technically a tidal estuary, as the flow

direction depends upon the water-level difference
between Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay. During the dry season, the water level in Laguna de
Bay is low and the flow direction of the Pasig River depends on the tides. During the wet
season, when the water level of Laguna de Bay is high, flow is normally from Laguna de Bay
towards Manila Bay. 

Pollution

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

Heavy Metals

The August 1991 feasibility study for river rehabilitation admits that “electroplating industries
and  some chemical processing plants are likely to generate significant amounts of wastes
contaminated with heavy metals and other toxic components.”  

Metals are introduced in aquatic systems as a result of the weathering of soils and rocks, from
volcanic eruptions, and from a variety of human activities involving the mining, processing, or
use of metals and/or substances that contain metal pollutants. The most common heavy metal
pollutants are arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead and mercury. There are
different types of sources of pollutants: point sources (localized pollution), where pollutants
come from single, identifiable sources. The second type of pollutant sources are nonpoint
sources, where pollutants come from dispersed (and often difficult to identify) sources. There
are only a few examples of localized metal pollution, like the natural weathering of ore bodies
and the little metal particles coming from coal-burning power plants via smokestacks in air,
water and soils around the factory.  The most common metal pollution in freshwater comes
from mining companies. They usually use an acid mine drainage system to release heavy metals
from ores, because metals are very soluble in an acid solution. After the drainage process, they
disperse the acid solution in the groundwater, containing high levels of metals.  

When the pH in water falls, metal solubility increases and the metal particles become more
mobile. That is why metals are more toxic in soft waters. Metals can become ‘locked up’ in
bottom sediments, where they remain for many years. Streams coming from draining mining
areas are often very acidic and contain high concentrations of dissolved metals with little
aquatic life. Both localized and dispersed metal pollution cause environmental damage because
metals are non-biodegradable. Unlike some organic pesticides, metals cannot be broken down
into less harmful components in the environment.

Chapter III

Methodology
 Phase I: Preparation of Materials

The materials to be used by the researchers in this study will be collected – 9

Water gallons, 2 PVC Pipes: 5ft (length), 6mm (wall thickness), and 200mm (outside diameter),
15 kg of fresh I. aquatica plants, 15 kg of fresh water hyacinths, 9 faucets, 3 medium-sized
basins and about 10 gallons of sample water to be fetched from Pasig river itself. These
gathered materials will be prepared for the set-up construction and placed in a closed space
with a screen roof, in the Bureau of Soils and Water Management Main Office in Visayas
Avenue, Quezon City, with an area of 120sq.ft.

Phase II: Construction of the Set-Ups

The set-ups will be constructed by the experimenters in the said location. Each
set up will be made up of 3 gallons of Pasig river water, elevated and spiraling downward,
connected by the PVC pipes which will be cut into a length of 300mm each. Three of these set-
ups will be made and the first one will be the control group and labeled Set-up A (SA). The
second set up will be placed beside the first one, containing I. aquatic species on the PVC pipes.
This set-up will be labeled Set-up B (SB). On SB’s, first level, pertaining to the first and highest
gallon, 3 kg of the species will be placed. On the second level, 5 kg will be placed and 7 kg for
the last and lowest level. The same will be done to set-up C (SC), only having the species
different. These set-ups will include one faucet at each end of a gallon.

Phase III: Collection of Water Samples

The experimenters will use a CRD approach in gathering the samples needed,
with the Pasig River water being the primary factor. The experimenters will fetch about 10
gallons of water from Pasig River and this water samples will undergo heavy metal testing in the
laboratory first. The heavy metals will be identified through a process where subtle
electromagnetic and photon phenomena occur. In this kind of procedure, the water samples
will be tested for its electromagnetism and photon reactions through the photomultiplier- this
device records the number of photoelectrons with one electrode and the electromagnetic
output through a second electrode. The higher the reactions and electromagnetism that the
photomultiplier detects, the higher the heavy metal content of the water is. The next step after
the testing of the water samples will be its distribution to the 3 gallons of each setup.

Phase IV: Storage and Treatment of Water Samples

The water samples will be stored for 5 consecutive days and will be left stagnant.
After 5 days of stability, water from the first level of each set-up containing 3 kg of each species
and the control group will be allowed to flow through the faucet and the water here will be
collected and tested through the photomultiplier again. The same will be done with all the
other levels of treatment. The time frame for this study will last for about 3 weeks, with one
week for each level of treatment, or a month at maximum.

Phase V: Determining the water qualities:

The water quality used for irrigation is essential for the yield and quantity of crops,
maintenance of soil productivity, and protection of the environment. The physical and
mechanical properties of the soil, ex. Soil structure (stability of aggregates) and permeability,
are very sensitive to the type of exchangeable ions present in irrigation waters.

Irrigation water quality can best be determined by chemical laboratory analysis. The most
important factors to determine the suitability of water use in agriculture are the following: PH,
Salinity Hazard, Sodium Hazard (Sodium Adsorption Ration or SAR), Carbonate and
Bicarbonates in relation with the Ca & Mg content, other trace elements, Toxic anions,
Nutrients – Free chlorine.

Phase VI: Gathering of Data

At the fourth phase’s duration, data about the electromagnetism and photon
reactions of the water samples which have undergone 5 days of treatment will be collected and
organized in a 3 separate tables, Table 1 for SA, Table 2 for SB and Table 3 for SC. These results
will undergo One-Way ANOVA Testing for the determination of the test statistic with those of
the control group and the two species’ comparison.

Flowchart

Gather the materials needed for the experiment.