The Sapang Baho River is a river system that runs through Rizal Province and

Marikina Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4 ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The name, when literally translated, means "smelly creek". It is one of 21

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

of Laguna de Bay and is regularly monitored by the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) through one of its 15 river monitoring stations. Among its

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

are the

Hinulugang Taktak Hinulugang Taktak Protected Landscape, also known as Hinulugan Taktak, is a protected area in Rizal, Philippines. Initially assigned as a recreation area, the waterfall area has been designated as a national park by virtue of Republic Act No. 6 ...

falls on the Taktak River in

Antipolo Antipolo, officially the City of Antipolo (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

city, once a famed tourist destination in the days before urbanization and pollution.

Location, mouth and headwaters

The Sapang Baho river originates in the mountains of Rizal province, including upper portions of the city of

, which has since become part of the

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

. Its

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

, which once released water directly into Laguna de Bay, has been obscured by the construction of the Manggahan Floodway, into whose East bank it now drains at the barangay of San Francisco,

Cainta Cainta, officially the Municipality of Cainta (, ), is a municipality in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 376,933 people. It is one of the ...

, somewhere near San Francisco Elementary School. The portion of the river cut off by the floodway still exists, visible at the opposite bank of the floodway at the Greenwoods Executive Village in Cainta, and ending at the original rivermouth where the shore of

Taytay, Rizal Taytay, officially the Municipality of Taytay (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 386,451 pe ...

meets Laguna de Bay. The main body of the river actually meanders only a short distance between Taytay and Cainta, Rizal, where it branches out into smaller creeks at Village East Subdivision, near the LLDA water sampling station. Creeks further upstream which serve as the headwaters of the Sapang Baho include (from West to East): Hakbangan Creek in

; a creek at Barangay Mayamot, Antipolo; and furthest to the Southeast, the Taktak River and

falls in Antipolo.

Monitoring and Conservation

In the December 2005 Water Quality Status Report listed on the LLDA's site, the Sapang Baho River was listed as "''worse than Class D''" with very low %

Dissolved Oxygen Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It can ...

saturation. It also indicated that this status had been "maintained" since the river was last monitored. According to the

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR; ) is the Executive Departments of the Philippines, executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the cou ...

's Water Usage & Classification for Fresh Water, Class D Quality freshwater is suitable for agriculture, irrigation, livestock watering and industrial water supply class II. "''Worse than Class D''" means that the Sapang Bato is not usable for any of these functions. The Sapang Baho has been noted to have a blue color which has been attributed to dissolved matter. This mixes with the water in Manggahan Floodway, and from there to the Lake.

Sources

{{coord, 14, 33, N, 121, 06, E, display=title, dim:15000_region:PH_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Rivers of Metro Manila Tributaries of Laguna de Bay

Location, mouth and headwaters

Monitoring and Conservation

See also

Sources