I. Conceptual Framework
The Water Accounts of the Philippines is a publication presenting the physical and monetary flow accounts for water resources in the country. The accounts are updated on an annual basis.
The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting 2012 Central Framework (SEEA-CF) serves as the framework of this compilation. It is a multipurpose conceptual framework that quantitatively describes the interaction between the environment and the economy. Through this framework, environmental and economic data are organized to produce integrated information for policy use.
The SEEA-CF discusses three main accounts: (1) the stocks and the changes in stocks of environmental assets; (2) the economic activity and transactions related to the environment; and (3) the flows of resources, such as water, within the economy and between the economy and the environment, which is the focus of this compilation.
The physical flow accounts for water resources describe the flows of water to and from the environment and the economy. It covers the entire process of water supply and use–from the initial abstraction of water from the environment into the economy, to the flows within the economy done by the different industries and households, and finally, return flows from the economy back to the environment. Meanwhile, the monetary flow accounts for water describe in monetary units the origin and destination of water-related products such as natural water and sewerage services. The flow accounts tables of the SEEA-CF are shown in the Annex.
The physical flow accounts also provide the inputs to calculate Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators 6.4.1: Change in Water Use Efficiency and 6.4.2: Level of Water Stress. These two indicators focus on the amount of water abstracted and used to carry out various economic activities.
II. Data Sources
The data for estimating the physical flow accounts and the related SDG indicators were obtained from the following:
Data | Data Sources |
| ● Summary of Water Permit Grants (Water Allocated), by source and by use | National Water Resources Board |
| ● Annual National Accounts ● Livestock and Poultry Inventory ● 2018 Input-Output Table | Philippine Statistics Authority |
| ● Water Production ● Billed Volume ● Non-Revenue Water ● Water Prices | Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Local Water Utilities Administration, Maynilad Water Services Inc., Manila Water Company, Inc. |
| ● Livestock and poultry daily water requirements | Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development |
| ● Parameter on water needed for irrigation (volume per hectare irrigated) | National Irrigation Administration |
| ● Total Renewable Water Resources ● Environmental Flow Requirements | Aquastat Database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
III. Estimation Methodology of the Accounts and Indicators
| Account Entry | Data Item | Calculation, if applicable |
| a. Abstraction for Own Use | ||
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | • Water permit grants • Daily water requirements of | Livestock: Daily water requirements* number of animals (from inventory) |
| Mining and quarrying, Manufacturing, and Construction | • Water permit grants (industrial) | |
| Electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply | • Water permit grants (power) | |
| Other Industries | • Water permit grants (municipal, recreation, others) minus water for distribution | |
| b. Distributed Water | ||
| Industries | • Water expenses of different industries (Input-Output Table, Intermediate Consumption) • Water prices • Produced water | 1. Use the 2018 Input- Output (IO) table to get the ratio of water supply to total intermediate consumption (IC) 2. Use ratio from (1) to get IC-Water for the timeseries 3. Convert water expenses to physical units using water prices |
| Households | • Water expenses of • Gross output of water – own | 1. Use the IO table to get the ratio of water supply to total Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE) 2. Use ratio from (1) to get HFCE-Water for the timeseries 3. Convert water expenses to physical units using water prices |
| c. Return Flows of Water | ||
| Industries | • Parameters on wastewater generation | Total Water Supply * (1 minus water use coefficient), by industry |
| Households | • Total water supplied to households | |
| d. Losses | • Non-revenue water | Produced volume minus billed volume |
| e. Evaporation, Transpiration, Water incorporated into products | Balancing item for total supply and total use | |
SDG Indicators
The following indicators are derived through the steps outlined below.
a. 6.4.1 - Water Use Efficiency
1. From the National Accounts of the Philippines, compute the gross value added (GVA) of the following major industries:
a) Irrigated agriculture (irrigated crops, livestock and poultry, aquaculture, support activities)
b) Mining and Quarrying, Manufacturing, Electricity and Steam, Construction (MIMEC)
c) Water Supply, Sewerage and Waste Management, Services
2. For each industry, divide the GVA by the volume of water used to calculate the water use efficiency (WUE). This excludes water for hydropower generation as this is non-consumptive use.
3. Get the weighted average WUE, using the volume of water as the weights.
b. 6.4.2 - Level of Water Stress
1. From the Water Flow Accounts, determine the Total Freshwater Withdrawals (TFWW). This excludes water for hydropower generation as this is non-consumptive use.
2. From the FAO Aquastat Database, get the Total Renewable Water Resources (TRWR) and Environmental Flow Requirements (EFR) for the Philippines.
3. The level of water stress is computed as:
It should be noted that freshwater withdrawals for both indicators exclude hydropower generation due to its non-consumptive use. That is, water remains in or is immediately returned to the location from where it was extracted. Also, Water Supply and Waste Management is included in the services sector, in alignment with the global methodology for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.4.1: Change in Water Use Efficiency.
In addition, parameters on the available water resources of the Philippines, particularly the total renewable freshwater resources and environmental flow requirements, were adopted from the AQUASTAT database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the international custodian agency for SDG Target 6.4: Increase Water-Use Efficiency and Ensure Freshwater Supplies.
Limitations
The current publication focuses only on surface water and groundwater abstraction. Due to data unavailability, soil water and other sources such as desalinated seawater, harvested rainwater, and reused water are yet to be included in future publications.
In addition, due to limited data on wastewater collection & treatment and reuse of water, return flows of water are estimated using industry parameters or water-use coefficients from international sources. Similarly, monetary flows for sewerage services are to be included in future publications.
IV. Definition of Terms
a. Abstraction - the amount of water that is removed from any source, either permanently or temporarily, in a given period of time.
b. Consumptive Use of Water - the part of water withdrawn from its source that will not become available for reuse.
c. Distributed Water - abstracted water received from other economic units, particularly from the Water Supply industry.
d. Evaporation of abstracted water - the amount of evaporation when water is distributed between economic units after abstraction (e.g. during distribution via open channels or while in water storage).
e. Groundwater - water collected in porous layers of underground formations, known as aquifers, which yield significant quantities of water to wells and springs
f. Losses - volume of water lost between the point of abstraction and a point of use
g. Non-consumptive use of water - water remains in or is immediately returned to the point of extraction and is still available for use.
h. Non-revenue water - difference between the amount of water produced and amount of water billed.
i. Returns - the total volume of water that is returned to the environment by economic units
j. Reused water - wastewater supplied to a user for further use with or without prior treatment, excluding the reuse (or recycling) of water within economic units
k. Soil water - water suspended in the uppermost belt of soil or in the zone of aeration near the ground surface.
l. Surface water - this covers all water that flows over and is stored on the ground surface, which includes water in artificial reservoirs, lakes, rivers and streams, and glaciers, snow, and ice.
m. Transpiration - the amount of soil water absorbed by cultivated plants and subsequently released to the atmosphere.
n. Total Freshwater Withdrawal - the volume of freshwater extracted from its source (rivers, lakes, aquifers) for agriculture, industries, and services.
o. Total Renewable Freshwater resources - the sum of internal water resources (long-term average annual flow of rivers and recharge of groundwater for a given country generated from endogenous precipitation) and external water resources (flows of water entering the country).
p. Water Stress, Level of - the ratio between total freshwater withdrawn by all major sectors and total renewable freshwater resources, after taking into account environmental water requirements.
q. Water Use Efficiency - the value-added of a given major sector divided by the volume of water used.
r. Wastewater - water that is discarded and is no longer required by the owner or user.
Sources: 1. UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting 2012 Central Framework;
2. UN SEEA Technical Note: Water Accounting;
3. UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) SDG Indicators 6.4.1 and 6.4.2 Metadata
V. Dissemination of Results and Revision
The Water Accounts of the Philippines is released annually in the PSA website. The web release materials include press release, statistical tables, infographics, and social cards.
List of Statistical Tables
Table 1. Physical Supply and Use Table
Table 2. Monetary Supply and Use Table
Table 3. Water Use Efficiency
Table 4. Level of Water Stress
VI. Citation
Philippine Statistics Authority. (05 October 2023). Technical Notes on Water Accounts of the Philippines: Flow Accounts. https://psa.gov.ph/content/countrys-overall-water-use-efficiency-increased-55-percent-2022
VII. Contact Information
Ms. Virginia M. Bathan
Chief Statistical Specialist
Environment and Natural Resources Accounts Division
(632) 8376-2041
enrad.staff@gmail.com
For data request, you may contact:
Knowledge Management and Communications Division
(632) 8462-6600 locals 839, 833, and 834
info@psa.gov.ph
