The Sapang Baho River is a river system that runs through

Rizal Province Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The province is named after José R ...

and

Marikina Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina ( fil, Lungsod ng Marikina), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 456,159 people. It is loca ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

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

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or 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 drain the surrounding drainage b ...

Laguna de Bay Laguna de Bay (Spanish language, Spanish for "Lagoon/Lake of Bay, Laguna, Bay"; tl, Lawa ng Bay, ), also known as Laguna Lake, is the List of lakes of the Philippines, largest lake in the Philippines. It is located southeast of Metro Manila, b ...

and is regularly monitored by the

Laguna Lake Development Authority The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), one of the attached agencies of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), is responsible for the preservation, development, and sustainability of Laguna de Bay (Laguna Lake) and its ...

(LLDA) through one of its 15 river monitoring stations. Among its

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

are the

Hinulugang Taktak Hinulugang Taktak Protected Landscape, also known as Hinulugan Taktak, is a protected area located in Rizal, Philippines. Initially assigned as a recreation area, the waterfall area has been designated as a national park by virtue of Republic Act ...

falls on the Taktak River in

Antipolo Antipolo, officially known as the City of Antipolo ( fil, Lungsod ng Antipolo), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 887,399 people. It is the mo ...

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 Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The p ...

province, including upper portions of the city of

, which has since become part of the

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

. Its

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

, which once released water directly into

, has been obscured by the construction of the

Manggahan Floodway The Manggahan Floodway is an artificially constructed waterway in Metro Manila, the Philippines. The floodway was built in 1986, with the cost of 1.1 billion pesos, in order to reduce flooding along Pasig River during the rainy season, by diverti ...

, into whose East bank it now drains at the barangay of San Francisco,

Cainta Cainta, officially the Municipality of Cainta ( fil, Bayan ng Cainta, ), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 376,933 people. It is one of the oldest municipalit ...

, 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 ( tgl, Bayan ng Taytay; ), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. It is also known as the Garments Capital of the Philippines. Most occupation of the residents are relat ...

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 ca ...

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 ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman, DENR or KKLY) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, developmen ...

'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

, and from there to the Lake.

Location, mouth and headwaters

Monitoring and Conservation

Sources

See also