The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has called on business firms and other stakeholders to adopt the country's newly developed water technologies.
Undersecretary for Research and Development (R&D) Rowena Cristina L. Guevara made the call on Tuesday, July 27, during the agency’s unveiling of water-related technologies amounting to over P800 million for the country’s Water Masterplan.
“As you have seen, the DOST has started its massive initiative on the water and to scale up for a wider utilization and reach, we need your support in the adoption of these technologies,” Guevara said in her message.
“We can achieve more if we work together. Join us in this wave of action and let us make change happen. ”
Among the water technologies featured during the DOST-initiated forum to encourage collaboration among stakeholders in water R&D are the following:
-Enhanced Forecasting Model for Complex Water Supply Systems
-the Mountain Engineering R&D Center
-Philippine Groundwater Outlook
-Post-Treatment of Food Processing Wastewater Effluent for Nutrient Removal
- Evapotranspiration-based Irrigation Scheduler and Calculator (ETCal)
-Water Advisory for Irrigation Scheduling System (WAISS)
-Philippine Groundwater Health Index for Agricultural Areas
The Enhanced Forecasting Model for Complex Water Supply Systems is a project under DOST-S4CP Collaborative Research and Development to Leverage Philippine Economy (CRADLE) Program.
“This project aims to achieve optimal water supply distribution in the east zone with forecasting models for Angat, Ipo, La Mesa and its water treatment plants,” the DOST said.
The P62.6-million Mountain Engineering R&D Center was established under the DOST-S4CP Niche Centers in the Regions for R&D (NICER)
The center is implemented by the University of the Cordilleras.
“It will enhance the industrial competitiveness of the Cordilleras in the field of agriculture, tourism, and mobility through mountain engineering solutions and promote social and human development through upland water security, and environmental sustainability,” the DOST said.
One of the technologies showcased during the forum is the Philippine Groundwater Outlook project by the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU).
The project is funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD).
“With a budget of P15 million, the project aims to deliver consistent, accessible and transferable assessments of climate and population change in regional groundwater resources,” the DOST said.
“This will provide a framework for delivering monthly groundwater flood and drought reports, to better inform stakeholders of risk at local and regional levels,” it added.
Another featured water-related technology is the Post-Treatment of Food Processing Wastewater Effluent for Nutrient Removal by the Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI).
“For this project, the proponent conducted a characterization study on the effluent of Cenmaco before and after the existing wastewater treatment and developed the appropriate post-treatment design system for the removal of excess nitrogen and phosphorus in compliance with the DENR effluent standards,” the DOST said.
“The outputs of this project can also be potentially adopted and transferred to other similar industries with the same problems on excessive nutrients in their treated wastewater.”
The DOST noted that under Project SARAI, UP Los Baños has developed two user-friendly smart water management technologies— ETCal and WAISS.
“These user-friendly technologies aim to achieve higher water use efficiency by providing the end-users practical information on irrigation scheduling and recommendations,” it said.
Another technology is the Philippine Groundwater Health Index for Agricultural Areas, which is developed at UP Diliman.
These agricultural projects are funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD).