Journal of Chemical, Biological and Physical Sciences Water Quality Analysis of Cabadbaran River, Cabadbaran City, Philippines
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JCBPS; Section D; May 2020 –July 2020, Vol. 10, No. 3; 315-324. E- ISSN: 2249 –1929 [DOI: 10.24214/jcbps.D.10.3.31524.] Journal of Chemical, Biological and Physical Sciences An International Peer Review E-3 Journal of Sciences Available online atwww.jcbsc.org Section D: Environmental Sciences CODEN (USA): JCBPAT Research Article Water Quality Analysis of Cabadbaran River, Cabadbaran City, Philippines Mily Shey C. Gata, Kessiah Faye B. Monteroso, Samantha Claire F. More, Michelle M. Barbon, and Mary Ann M. Ganzon* Specialization Years Program, Philippine Science High School-Caraga Region Campus, Barangay Ampayon, Butuan City, Philippines Received: 19 May 2020; Revised: 01 June 2020; Accepted: 11 June 2020 Abstract: Cabadbaran River, located in Cabadbaran City, Philippines, is one of the residents’ primary sources of their livelihood. It also serves as the foundation of its tributary streams in Mt. Hilong-hilong which supports a rich diversity of endemic plants and animals in the area and serves as a source of potable water for its nearby community. Thus, the main objective of the study was to assess the water quality and rivers’ health of Cabadbaran and to further help establish protocols which will avoid pollution and further damage to the river. Results of the physicochemical parameters show that the water of the river was within the standard ranges set by the DAO-2016- 08 of the DENR for freshwater bodies. Taxa 2 were found to be the richest from the collected macro invertebrates inhabiting the river which indicates a moderate quality as habitat for these organisms. In conclusion, the Cabadbaran River had been disturbed by anthropogenic inputs such as artificial interventions along the river banks and improper waste disposal, but is still sufficient in sustaining the organisms and the environment relying on it. However, it can further cause damaged if intensive industrialization occurs. Efforts on restoring and maintaining the quality of the river must be continued to preserve the function of the Cabadbaran River. 315 J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. D ; May 2020 –July 2020, Vol. 10, No. 3; 315-324. DOI:10.24214/jcbps.D.10.3.31524.] Water Quality … Mily Shey C. Gata et al. Key words: Benthic macro invertebrates, Bio indicator, Morphological quality index, physicochemical analysis, Riparian cover vegetation. INTRODUCTION Deterioration of fresh bodies of water is one of the common problems in the Philippines which affect both agricultural and marine livelihoods. Domestic and industrial wastes are thrown into the rivers and other human activities contribute to the worsening of the river's health.1 The Cabadbaran River is used by its nearby community for fishing and a source of flowing water in recreational swimming pools. Moreover, one of the tributaries of the Cabadbaran River includes the streams found in Mt. Hilong- hilong, Brgy. Mahaba, Cabadbaran City, Philippines which supports the rich diversity of endemic organisms and as a source of potable water. Thus, deterioration of the said river may not only affect the organisms living within it but also the community relying on it.This study aims to assess the water quality of three sampling stations on Cabadbaran River, Cabadbaran City, Philippines based on the physicochemical properties of the water, richness of taxa and ecological sensitivity of macroinvertebrates, morphological quality index and infrastructures found in the riparian zones. MATERIALS AND APPARATUS Sampling Area: The study was conducted in Cabadbaran River, located within Cabadbaran City, Philippines. It is bounded on the east by Madrid, on the west by Butuan Bay, on the north by Santiago, and on the south by Remedios T. Romualdez. It has a total length of approximately 23.33 km and is composed of varying types of land uses: agricultural, residential, industrial, and commercial. Three sampling stations were established within the stretch of the river. These sampling stations were chosen based on the different prevailing land uses and river’s reaches: Table (1): Description and GPS Coordinates of the Sampling Stations. Station Description Latitude Longitude Code SS1 The mouth of the Cabadbaran River is located at 9.12 125.52 Famador Avenue, Brgy. Poblacion 3, Cabadbaran City, which is a residential area. One side of the riverbank is concrete. SS2 Station 2 is at Purok Quarry, Brgy Poblacion 9, 9.12 125.53 Cabadbaran City. It is contained within a residential/ agricultural area with a concrete bridge. Approximately 2.7 km from the bridge is a pools resort SS3 Station 3 is located approximately 3.7 km from 9.12 125.54 Station 2. It is surrounding land use that can be described as a forest. Each sampling station had an approximate length of 2-2.5 km. These lengths are then further divided into three sampling sites 316 J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. D ; May 2020 –July 2020, Vol. 10, No. 3; 315-324. DOI:10.24214/jcbps.D.10.3.31524.] Water Quality … Mily Shey C. Gata et al. Figure (1): Map of the sampling stations The sampling was carried out in February, March, and April 2019. The assessment was divided into two parameters: the pressure parameters, which refers to the factors that can worsen the current river condition and the response parameter, which measures the current state of the river2. Pressure Parameters: The pressure parameters included the riparian cover and vegetation proportion and catchment disturbance with factors such as infrastructures present. Determining the infrastructures surrounding the river can imply its possible impacts on the river, such as the accumulation of sediments on the riverbanks that can lead to higher turbidity of water. This also describes how anthropogenic inputs have affected the overall river condition. The Morphological Quality Index (MQI) of each sampling station was also calculated. MQI, adopted from Rinaldi et al.[3]’s study in 2011, assesses the present morphological conditions of the river by analyzing three components: (1) geomorphologic functionality, (2) artificiality, and (3) morphological channel changes. Each answer has a corresponding score ranging from 0-6. Response Parameters: Response parameters included the physicochemical properties of water and macroinvertebrates species composition and vascular riparian vegetation. The following physicochemical parameters were obtained: pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved oxygen (DO), atmospheric temperature, water temperature, relative humidity, Electrical Conductivity (EC), biological oxygen demand (BOD), nitrites, turbidity, fluoride, total chlorine, and ammonia (NH3). Air and water temperature and relative humidity were measured in situ using a psychrometer. A minimum of 8L composite samples (a combination of the three sampling sites) were collected from the three stations and brought to the PSHS-CRC Science Laboratory, DOST Laboratory and FAST Laboratory for the analysis. The reference values used for the physicochemical properties were derived from DAO-2016-084 water quality criteria set for the fishery, recreation, and industrial water supply. 317 J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. D ; May 2020 –July 2020, Vol. 10, No. 3; 315-324. DOI:10.24214/jcbps.D.10.3.31524.] Water Quality … Mily Shey C. Gata et al. Benthic macro invertebrates were collected from each station using the kick net, dip net, and a mesh sieve; by scrubbing rocks, sieving smaller sediments, and by hand-picking specimens. The collected samples were preserved in denatured alcohol. The specimens were identified up to the species level; classifying orders belonging to Taxa 1, Taxa 2 and Taxa 3, groupings based on pollution sensitivity, in the sampling stations. For the riparian cover vegetation, 20 m of the riparian zone from each side of the river was assessed in each sampling station. The vegetation of the riparian zone which was composed mainly of native trees and shrubs was described in terms of its richness and distribution. Species of plants were collected per sampling station to be identified up to their species level and classified them into three vascular plant groups; angiosperms, gymnosperms, and pteridophytes. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Morphological Quality Index: Alterations occurred on the river from its normal and natural state were scored through the use of morphological quality index (MQI), developed by Rinaldi et al.3. The conditions of the river for each sampling station were assessed through a series of indicators with corresponding classes and scores (Table 2). The calculated MQI value for SS1 was 0.395 which describes a poor morphological quality, mainly affected by the F6 to F13 indicators, implying that there had been an alteration from the expected bed configuration as a result of a bed slope reduction from a particular structure such as embankments. This was followed by A4 to A9 indicators, which meant that there are significant amounts of artificial intervention, specifically bank protections, which caused an alteration to the river’s morphology. A 0.649 MQI was scored on SS2 which is equivalent to a moderate morphological quality of the river. This suggests that the health of the river was affected by the morphological alterations but with minimal adverse effects. Lastly, the sampling station 3 with a 0.753 value, which indicates an excellent morphological quality. This implies that the morphological changes in this station do not significantly affect the condition of the river. The averaged results for the morphological quality index of the river is 0.599, indicating that the river is of moderate morphological alteration quality from its normal, natural state. Table (2): Scores of the Morphological Alterations on Cabadbaran River. SCORE SS1 SS2 SS3 MQI 0.395 0.649 0.753 Quality Poor Moderate Good Vascular Riparian Vegetation: There were 16 species of plants collected in all sampling stations wherein 13 species of the group are angiosperms, two species identified as gymnosperms and one is a pteridophyte as shown in Table 3. The group angiosperms were the most abundant plants observed with Cocos nucifera as the dominant species in the area.