DAO 2016-08 Definition of Terms

Annual Average

means the sum of all values in one year divided by the number of values

Assimilative Capacity

refers to the amount of contaminant load that can be discharge to a specific water body without exceeding the water quality guidelines

Discharge

includes, but is not limited to, the act of spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, releasing or pumping of any material into a water body or onto land from which it might flow or drain into said water

Effluent

means discharges from known source, which is passed into a body of water or land, or wastewater flowing out of a manufacturing plant, industrial plant including domestic, commercial, and recreational facilities

Establishment

refers to recognisable economic unit under a single ownership or control, i.e., under a single legal entity, which engages in one or predominantly one kind of economic activity at a single physical location. This includes industrial, commercial, and institutional establishments

Freshwater

means water containing less than 500 parts per million dissolved common salt, sodium chloride, such as that in groundwater, rivers, ponds, and lakes

General Effluent Standards (GES)

means any legal restriction or limitation on quantities, rates, and/or concentrations or any combination thereof, of physical, chemical or biological parameters of effluent which a person or point source is allowed to discharge into a body of water or land; that is applicable to all industry categories and defined according to the classification of the receiving water body

Geometric Mean

is the nth root of the product of a series of n numbers. It is a calculation to determine an average when the set of numbers covers a wide range

Groundwater

refers to the subsurface water that occurs beneath a water table in soils and rocks, or in geological formations

Industry

means the set of all production units engaged primarily in the same or similar kinds of productive econommic activity

Marine Waters

refers to the waters with salinity levels not less than 30 parts per thousand, at least 95% of the time

Maximum Allowable Limit

are values that should not be exceeded at any point in time

Natural Background Concentration

refers to the amount of naturally occurring chemical substances derived/originating from natural rocesses in the environment

Navigable Waters

means the water of the Philippines, including the territorial sea and inland waters suitable for water transport

Point Source

means any identifiable source of pollution with specific point of discharge into a particular water body

Pollutant

refers to any substance, whether solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive, which directly or indirectly: (i) alters quality (ii) is hazardous (iii) imparts odor, temp change, or physical, chemical, biological change (iv) excess allowable limits or concentrations of standards

Potable Water

means water suitable (both health and acceptability considerations) for drinking and cooking purposes

Primary Contact Recreation

refers to any form of recreation, where there is intimate contact of the human body with water, such as swimming, water skiing, or skin diving

Primary Parameters

are the required minimum water quality parameters to be monitored for each water body

Protected Water

refers to a watercourse or a water body, or any segment thereof, that is classified as a source of public water supply, harvesting of shellfish for direct human consumption, or that which is designated by competent government authority or by legislation as a national marine park and reserve, including coral reef park and reserve

Receiving Water Body

refers to the water body into which surface water, wastewater, and effluent are discharged

Secondary Paramters

are other water quality parameters that shall be used in baseline assessments as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment and other water quality moonitoring purposes

Secretary

means the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)

Significant Effluent Quality Paramters

are parameters specific o the processes of an establishment

Strong Wastewater

refers to WW whose initial Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) value before treatment is equal or greater than 3,000 milligram per liter (mg/L)

Surface Waters

refers to waters (eg. rivers, lakes, bays, etc.) which are open to the atmosphere and subject to surface runoff

Treatment

refers to any method, technique, or process designed to alter the physical, chemical, biological, or radiological character or composition of any waste or wastewater to reduce or prevent pollution

Water Body

means both natural and man-made bodies of fresh, brackish, and saline waters, and includes, but is not limited to, aquifers, groundwater, springs, creeks, streams, rivers, ponds, lagoons, water reservoirs, lakes, bays, estuarine, coastal and marine waters. Water bodies do not refer to those constructed, developed, and used purposely as water treatment facilities and/or water storage for recycling, and re-use, which are integral to process industry or manufacturing

Water Pollution

means any alteration of the physical, chemical or biological or radiological, properties of a water body resulting in the impairment of its purity or quality

Water Quality Guidelines (WQG)

refer to the level for a water constituent or numerical values of physical, chemical, biological, and bacteriological or radiological parameters which are used to classify water resources and their use, which do not result in significant health risk. These are not intended for direct enforcement but only for water quality management purposes, such as determining time trends, evaluating stages of deterioration or enhancement of the water quality, and as a basis for taking positive action in preventing, controlling, or abating water pollution.

Water Quality Management Area (WQMA)

are certain areas designated using appropriate physiological unites (i.e. watershed, river basins or water resources regions), having similar hydrological, hydrogeological, meteorological or geographic conditions which affect the physiochemical, biological and bacteriological reactions and diffusions of pollutants in the water bodies, or otherwise share common interest or face similar development programs, prospects or problems..