d.). The biodiversity in the lake has proved its eutrophic nature. .
Through the years, Laguna de Bay has contributed a lot both to the country and to the Filipinos. According to Lecciones, n.d., the lake is a major lifeline for most of the countryside townspeople. Fisheries are still the lake's most use as of the present. Croplands in the lakeshore towns, aside from feeding locals, contribute significantly to the food supply of Metropolitan Manila. Laguna de Bay provides a major transport route that makes mobility within the lake and around lakeshore towns easier. The lake also serves as a reservoir for floodwaters to save Metropolitan Manila from flooding during the rainy season. The waters of the lake are also used to generate power to a limited extent. A pump storage hydroelectric power station is operated in Kalayaan, Laguna producing about 300 megawatts of electricity. Efforts are underway to increase this capacity to 600 megawatts. Furthermore, the lake offers sufficient water for a year round source of irrigation for farmlands in the Laguna de Bay area (Lecciones, n.d.). At present, the lake is also a source of domestic water supply although on a very limited basis. Lastly, Laguna de Bay has also inspired a rich culture and a wealth of traditions in the lakeshore communities.
Despite the overwhelming benefits that people receive from Laguna de Bay, water pollution has made its way to the lake. According to Department of Environment and Natural Resources on 1997, 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 industrial. 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.