Analysis of water quality in relation to solid waste management practices in barangays [villages] Talisay and Balibago, Calatagan, Batangas, Philippines

This study aims to seek the relationship of water quality with solid waste management practices in the coastal barangays of Talisay and Balibago, Calatagan, Batangas as possibly affected by the households' socio-economic condition, environmental awareness, knowledge and perception. A multi-method research design comprised of structured survey, ocular inspection, water sampling, and key informant interviews were employed to meet the objectives of the study. Socio-economic analysis revealed that both barangays belong to the lower middle class with a total monthly income between Php 5,000.00-Php 9,999.00. Most of the respondents in Barangay Talisay only finished elementary education while majority of the respondents in Barangay Balibago finished high school. The household size of Barangay Talisay is four while the household size of Barangay Balibago is five. Hence, the estimated waste generation per capita per day is 0.53kg and 0.47kg for Barangays Talisay and Balibago, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that total family monthly income and environmental awareness are negatively correlated with solid waste management practices. However, environmental knowledge and perception are positively correlated with solid waste management practices. Educational attainment and household size are negatively correlated with solid waste management practices in Barangay Talisay while these are positively correlated with solid waste management practices in Barangay Balibago. The impacts of solid waste management practices on water quality were gauged through ocular inspection and water analysis. Ocular inspection accounted the presence of piggery structures, toilets, kitchens and open dumps along the creeks. Particularly, the presence of piggery and structures and toilets resulted to high fecal coliform load that reached 160,000 mpN/L, high biochemical oxygen demand reading of 45.8 mg/L (maximum), and lowest dissolved oxygen reading of 0.5 mg/L which did not comply with the standards set by the DENR. Moreover, high total nitrogen reading of 20.4 mg/L (maximum) and high turbidity reading of 132.5 NTU (maximum) were also recorded. However, the highest pH and average temperature reading of 8.24 and 27.83 deg C, respectively, were within the standards set by the DENR. Except for pH and temperature readings, results of the micobial and physico-chemical analysis signified that there is already water pollution in the creeks that might affect the health of the community and productivity of the area. Overall, both creeks are polluted but Barangay Balibago creek has better water quality than Barangay Talisay creek. This maybe influenced by the higher educational attainment, environmental knowledge, awareness, and positive environmental perception of the residents. Moreover, the greater household size and income in Barangay Balibago did not become a limitation for the residents to practice more responsible solid waste management.