Data on physico-chemical quality and microbial community level physiological profiles of drinking water and freshwater resources in Mega Manila Philippines

Samples of drinking water and freshwater resources in Mega Manila, Philippines were analyzed for physical and chemical quality as well as physiological profiles of microbial communities. Temperature, pH, oxidation-reduction potential, absolute conductivity, resistivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, pressure, and dissolved oxygen were measured using a multi-parameter probe and reported as averages from three biological replicates per sample. Detection and quantification of arsenic were carried out via 3114 B: Hydride Generation AAS method, while analysis for lead and cadmium was carried out via 3111 B: Direct Air-Acetylene Flame method. Detection and quantification of mercury was performed via Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Detection and quantification of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were carried out via Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detection (GC-ECD). Assessment of the physiological activities of microbial communities in the water samples was done using the Biolog EcoPlateTM system.  Eight samples returned less than the minimum detection limit for analysis of heavy metals and no samples contained polyaromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticides. In terms of microbial community physiological profiles, 66% of the samples (19 out 29) are found to demonstrate consistent increases in AMR and CMD over time. These data can be reused as comparators for retrospective and prospective quality assessments of drinking  water and freshwater sources.