Water Quality of Sawaga River and the Relationship of Socio-Economic and Health Status of its Surrounding Communities

Preserving Sawaga River is becoming a concern as various factors contribute to the pollution of its ecosystem. Specifically, this study aimed to assess the Socio-Demographic, Economic, Sanitation profile, and Health of people vis-à-vis its contribution to the water quality of the Sawaga River. A quantitative approach was utilized to examine various variables, and the Multiple Fermentation technique was employed to determine the water quality of the Sawaga River. There were three stations identified in three barangays, and a total of 109 respondents living near the river were purposively recruited to participate in the study.  Validation of results was also initiated through an interview with selected Barangay Officials and Barangay Health Workers. The study results revealed that the source of water and age are significant variables related to the respondents’ water-borne diseases. High total Coliform was also noted in the three Stations of Sawaga River, contributed by socio-demographic, sanitation and Health profile of the residents living near Sawaga River.

Keyword: Sawaga River, Water quality, Socio-demographic, Sanitation and Health profile