MANILA, Philippines -- Five of every 10 Filipinos believe water pollution is a serious threat to their health and environment but the government is unable to enforce environmental laws.

Results of survey of the Social Weather Stations released Friday also showed that at least three of every six Metro Manila residents did not agree that pollution was an “acceptable” trade-off for economic progress.

The SWS survey, a first on water pollution and enforcement of environmental laws, was commissioned by the environmental group Greenpeace as part of its “Project: Clean Water” program launched in September.

The initiative aims to mobilize action in protecting the country’s vast fresh water sources.

A recent World Bank study warned of a possible water scarcity in the country by 2025.

The survey from November 30 to December 3 covered 1,200 randomly chosen adult respondents divided into samples of 300 each in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

“We wanted to see how Filipinos perceive the problem because it is very hard to push for the implementation of environmental laws if the public accepts water pollution as an unavoidable consequence of economic development,” said Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner in a press conference Friday.

Half of respondents said water pollution in the country was a “very serious” problem and posed great danger to their health and environment; 22 percent found it “somewhat serious;” nine percent, “a little serious”; and 19 percent, “hardly serious.”

While growing concern for water pollution was noted among residents in urban areas, with 58 percent finding it unacceptable that economic progress should mean environmental destruction, some 48 percent said they were not aware of any laws enacted to help prevent pollution.

Among the environmental policies cited in the survey were the Clean Water Act and the Solid Waste Management Act.

Out of the 1,200 respondents, 26 percent said they were familiar with the Clean Water Act; 27 percent were aware of the Solid Waste Management Act while 50 percent admitted not knowing about the laws.

Some 40 percent said the laws were rarely enforced while only eight percent said they were “almost always enforced.”

“The figures are dismal and shocking. This should be a wake up call for the government to give priority to (people’s) health and the environment,” Baconguis said.

“This should jolt the government into taking more aggressive action to combat the growing threats to the country’s water resources,” she said.