Laguna de Bay

Laguna de Bay(Spanishfor "Lagoon/Lake ofBay";Filipino:Lawa ng Bay,[bɐˈʔi]), also known asLaguna Lakeand alternatively spelled "Laguna de Bae",is thelargest lakein thePhilippines. It is located southeast ofMetro Manila, between theprovincesofLagunato the south andRizalto the north. Afreshwaterlake, it has a surface area of 911–949 km(352–366 sq mi), with an average depth of about 2.8 meters (9 ft 2 in) and an elevation of about one meter above sea level. The lake is shaped like a crow's foot, with twopeninsulasjutting out from the northern shore and filling the large volcanicLaguna Caldera. In the middle of the lake is the large island ofTalim.
The lake is one of the primary sources of freshwater fish in the country. Its water drains toManila Bayvia thePasig River.Environmental issuessuch as water quality problems created bypopulation pressureandindustrialization,invasive speciesand overfishing are of concern for the lake, hurting its economic importance to the country. As population expands in the Bay, it is expected to rely more heavily on the lake for freshwater supply, thus water quality directly affects human populations.
Laguna de Bay means "Lagoon of [the town of] Bay" for the lakeshore town ofBay(pronounced Bä'ï), the former provincial capital ofLagunaprovince.Alternate spellings of the town's name include "Bae" or "Ba-i", and in the early colonial times, "Bayi" or "Vahi". The town's name is believed to have come from theTagalogword for "settlement" (bahayan), and is related to the words for "house" (bahay), "shore" (baybayin), and "boundary" (baybay), among others. The introduction of theEnglish languageduring theAmerican administration of the Philippines, elicited confusion as the English word "bay", referring to another body of water, was mistakenly substituted to the town name that led to its mispronunciation.However, the word "Bay" in Laguna de Bay has always referred to the town.
TheSpanishwordlagunarefers to not justlagoonsbut also for freshwaterlakes, aside fromlago.This would make the lake's alternate name, "Laguna Lake",tautological. However, the "Laguna" in "Laguna Lake" refers to the province of Laguna, the province at the southern shore of the lake, and not the lake itself. The province, though, was in turn named after the lake and was originally calledLa Lagunauntil the early 20th century.
In the pre-Hispanic era, the lake was known as "Puliran Kasumuran" (Laguna Copperplate Inscription,c.900 AD), and later by "Pulilan" (Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, 1613.Pila, Laguna).
Currently, the lake is often incorrectly called "Laguna Bay," including in government websites, or "Laguna Lake", which is used by theLaguna Lake Development Authority.
Laguna de Bay is a large shallow freshwater body in the heart ofLuzon Islandwith an aggregate area of about 911 km(352 sq mi) and a shoreline of 220 km (140 mi).It is considered to be the third largest inland body of water inSoutheast AsiaafterTonle SapinCambodiaandLake TobainSumatra,Indonesia. Laguna de Bay is bordered by the province ofLagunain the east, west and southwest, the province ofRizalin the north to northeast, andMetropolitan Manilain the northwest. The lake has an average depth of 2.8 meters (9 ft 2 in) and its excess water is discharged through thePasig River.
The middle part of Laguna de Bay betweenMount SembranoandTalim Island, is theLaguna Calderabelieved to have been formed by two major volcanic eruptions, around 1 million and 27,000–29,000 years ago. Remnants of its volcanic history are shown by the presence of series ofmaarsaround the area ofTadlac Lakeand Mayondon hill inLos Baños, Laguna,another maar at the southern end ofTalim Island, and asolfataricfield in Jala Jala.
Knownlake islandsincludeTalim, the largest and most populated island on the lake;Calamba Island, which is completely occupied by the Wonder Island resort inCalamba, Laguna;Cielito Lindo, a privately owned island off the coast of mainlandCardona, Rizal;Malahi Island which used to be the site of Maligi Island military reservation, near the southern tip of Talim;the nearby islands of Bonga and Pihan, also in Cardona; and Bay Island off the coast ofBay, Laguna, which is closely associated with the precolonial crocodile-deity myths of that town.
The lake is fed by 45,000 km(17,000 sq mi) ofcatchment areasand its 21 majortributaries. Among these are thePagsanjan Riverwhich is the source of 35% of the Lake's water, theSanta Cruz Riverwhich is the source of 15% of the Lake's water, theMarikina River(through theManggahan Floodway), theMangangate River, theTunasan River, theSan Pedro River, theCabuyao River, theSan Cristobal River, theSan Juan River, theBay,CaloandMaitemrivers inBay, theMolawin,DampalitandPelerivers inLos Baños, thePangil River, theTanay River, theMorong River, theSiniloan Riverand theSapang Baho River.
The lake is primarily drained through thePasig River, which is technically atidal estuaryinstead of a unidirectional "river."
The lake is a multipurpose resource,used for fishery, transportation, irrigation of agricultural lands, power generation, and as a reservoir for regional flood management, among other things.
The lake has been used as a navigation lane for passenger boats since theSpanish colonial era. It is also used as a source of water for theKalayaan Pumped-Storage Hydroelectric ProjectinKalayaan, Laguna. Other uses includefishery,aquaculture,recreation, food support for the growing duck industry,irrigationand a "virtual" cistern for domestic, agricultural, and industrialeffluents.
On December 15, 2023, Marcos, Jr., assisted by Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez,MWSSadministrator, Leonor Cleofas andManuel PangilinaninauguratedMaynilad Water Services’s P11-billion Poblacion Water Treatment Plant inMuntinlupaCity. The operation and maintenance of the Laguna Lake Drinking Water Treatment Plant was awarded byMaynilad Water ServicestoAcciona, CEO José Díaz-Caneja, andD.M Consulting Inc.-DMCI Holdings, Inc. It will process 150 million liters of drinking water a day from Laguna de Bay.
Because of its importance in the development of the Laguna de Bay Region, unlike other lakes in the country, its water quality and general condition are closely monitored.This important water resource has been greatly affected by development pressures like population growth, rapidindustrialization, and resources allocation.
At least 18 fish species are known from Laguna de Bay; none are strictlyendemicto the lake, but 3 are endemic to the Philippines:Gobiopteruslacustris,Leiopotherapon plumbeusandZenarchopterusphilippinus.Aquacultureis widespread in Laguna de Bay, but often involves non-native species.Some of these, such as thejanitor fish,clown knifefish,Thai catfish, andblackchin tilapia,have escaped and have becomeinvasive species, representing a threat to the native fish.
Government data showed that about 60% of the estimated 8.4 million people residing in the Laguna de Bay Region discharge their solid and liquid wastes indirectly to the lake through its tributaries. A large percentage of these wastes are mainly agricultural while the rest are either domestic or industrialAccording toDENR(1997), domestic and industrial wastes contribute almost equally at 30% each. Meanwhile, agricultural wastes take up the remaining 40%. In a recent sensitivity waste load model ran by the Laguna Lake Development Authority's (LLDA) Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) division, it revealed that 70% ofbiochemical oxygen demand(BOD) loadings came from households, 19% from industries, and 11% came from land run-off or erosion (LLDA, 2005).
As far as industries and factories are concerned, there are about 1,481 and increase is expected.Of the said figure, about 695 have wastewater treatment facilities. Despite this, the lake is absorbing huge amounts of pollution from these industries in the forms of discharges of industrial cooling water, toxic spills from barges and transport operations, and hazardous chemicals like lead, mercury, aluminum and cyanide.Based from the said figure, 65% are classified as "pollutive" industries.
The hastened agricultural modernization throughout the region took its toll on the lake. This paved the way for massive and intensified use of chemical based fertilizers and pesticides whose residues eventually find their way to the lake basin. These chemicals induce rapid algal growth in the area that depleted oxygen levels in the water. Hence,oxygenavailable to the lake is being used up thereby depleting the available oxygen for the fish, causing massivefish kills.A 2012 study found excessive pesticide use largely attributed to overapplication of pesticides close to the waterways.
As far as domestic wastes are concerned, around 10% of the 4,100 metric tons (4,000 long tons; 4,500 short tons) of waste generated by residents of Metro Manila are dumped into the lake, causingsiltationof the lake. As reported by the now defunct Metropolitan Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), only 15% of the residents in the area have an effective waste disposal system. Moreover, around 85% of the families living along the shoreline do not have toilets and/or septic tanks.
In 2018 a survey onMicroplasticswere conducted by researchers from thePolytechnic University of the Philippines, and have found out that the Laguna de Bay is heavily polluted with microplastics. The study involved three (3)barangaysand these areNapindan, San Isidro, and Sampiruhan. Among the barangays, Sampiruhan inCalamba, Lagunahas the most microplastics, with a median of 15 ranging from 11 to 24 microplastics per 1000 liters of lake water.The data from the conducted survey is available in Mendeley Data.
On January 29, 2008, the Mamamayan Para sa Pagpapanatili ng Pagpapaunlad ng Lawa ng Laguna (Mapagpala) accused the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) of the deterioration of Laguna de Bay due to multiplication of fish pens beyond the allowable limit.
The project was initially conceived as apublic-private partnershipproject, but the project was not successful in receiving bids.The project would later be revised as an untolled highway, known as the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network (LLRN) under a new proposal. The highway project has a total length of about 37.4 kilometers (km) expressway from Lower Bicutan in NCR to Calamba in Laguna Province, consisting of (i) 11.7 km long viaduct from Lower Bicutan to Tunasan; and (ii) 25.7km long combination of shoreline viaduct and embankment from Tunasan to Calamba. The expressway will be an access-controlled road with eight interchanges, with an access road at each interchange to connect to the existing road networks.The Export-Import Bank of Korea-Economic Development Cooperation Fund (KEXIM-EDCF) and theAsian Development Bank(ADB) will jointly finance the project.
TheManila Waterbegan laying down in 2021 two high density polyethylene (HDPE) underground and 21 km submarine pipes fromBinangonan,Cardona,Morong, andPilillato expand their services under the East Bay Phase 1 Project. These two pipes once completed will deliver 50 million liters per day (MLD) to the said area. The environmental impact of the project was worked on by theUniversity of the Philippines Los Baños.
East Bay Phase 2 Project will involve construction of a water treatment plant (WTP) at Bgy. Kabulusan,Pakil, Lagunabeginning 2023. The WTP once completed will produce 200 MLD for the Metro Manila East Zone through the submarine pipeline under the lake.
The main agency tasked to oversee the programs that aimed to develop and protect Laguna de Bay is theLaguna Lake Development Authority(LLDA), signed into law under Republic Act (RA) 4850 in 1966 during theMarcos administration.Originally only created as a quasi-government agency with regulatory and proprietary functions, its charter was strengthened by Presidential Decree (PD) 817 in 1975 and by Executive Order (EO) 927 in 1983 to include environmental protection and jurisdiction over the surface waters of the lake basin. In 1993, by virtue of the devolution, the administrative supervision of the LLDA was transferred to the DENR by EO 149.
The technical aspect regarding the quality of wastewater is given in DENR Administrative Order 1990–35. The order defines the critical water parameters' value versus the classification of the body of water (e.g., lake or river). Discharge permits are issued by the LLDA only if the wastewater being discharged complied with the said order.
According to the Clean Water Act of 2004, the DENR (through the LLDA) shall implement a wastewater charge system in all management areas including the Laguna Lake region and Regional Industrial Centers through the collection of wastewater charges/fees. The system shall be established on the basis of payment to the government for discharging wastewater into the water bodies. Wastewater charges shall be established taking into consideration the following: a) to provide strong economic inducement for polluters to modify their production or management processes or to invest in pollution control technology in order to reduce the amount of water pollutants generated; b) to cover the cost of administering water quality management or improvement programs, including the cost of administering the discharge permitting and water pollution charge system; c) reflect damages caused by water pollution on the surrounding environment, including the cost of rehabilitation; d) type of pollutant; e) classification of the receiving water body; and f) other special attributes of the water body.
CECAM is a 5-year research cooperation between Japanese and Filipino scientists. Seven monitoring instruments are being used as part of the Continuous and Comprehensive Monitoring System (CCMS) provided by the Japanese government.
Laguna de Bay has had a significant impact on the cultures of the communities that grew up around its shores, ranging from folk medicine to architecture. For example, the traditional cure for a child constantly experiencing nose bleed in Victoria, Laguna is to have the child submerge his or her head in the lake water at daybreak.Whennipa hutswere more common, huts made in the lake area were constructed out of bamboo that would first be cured in the waters of Laguna de Bay.Some experts on the evolution oflocal mythologiessuggest that the legend ofMariang Makilingmay have started out as that of the Lady (Ba'i) of Laguna de Bay, before the legend was transmuted toMount Makiling.