The government has released guidelines for the designation of Water Quality Management Areas (WQMA) pivotal to the implementation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) which involves regulations on disposal of pollutant waste water that contributes to reduced fishery production or man-made disasters.

Republic Act (RA) 9275 or the CWA mandates the designation of WQMAs which will form a multisectoral group to monitor implementation of the law. This is specifically to consider "water quality problems, sources of pollution, beneficial uses of water body" and then determine "control measures" for water quality improvement.

According to the 12-point steps to the designation of WQMA issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) , a proposed management area should file maps with the baseline data of the WQMA together with information on major threats to water quality or sources of pollution in this area.

"Information associated with water quality problems, such as public health (drinking water supply, fishery prodution, tourism, or recreation) must be documented," according to the guidelines.

WQMAs are required to come up with Action Plans which includes goals on sewerage and septage, schedule of compliance to the requirements of CWA, water pollution control strategies, water quality information and education, resource requirement and possible sources, enforcement procedures of the plan, and incentives in the implementation of CWA.

The law indicates that a WQMA should cover areas that have a common interest. These may have similar hydrological-geographic features such as within a watershed, river basins, or water resources region. Existing areas under the National Integrated Protected Areas (NIPAs), Protected AReas Management Board (PAMB), Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils (FARMCs), forest management areas (FMAs), and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and watershed management councils can provide support to a WQMA.