Phl leads global effort for safe drinking water

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is playing a leading and pioneering role in a global effort that taps nuclear science to provide better access to clean and safe drinking water under the International Atomic Enegy Agency (IAEA) Water Availability Enhancement (IWAVE) project.

Alumanda dela Rosa, director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), said that the Philippines, through the PNRI in collaboration with the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), was the first member-state of the IAEA to participate in the project that uses isotope hydrology techniques to determine the quality and quantity of groundwater in selected areas and regions.

The Philippines is followed by Oman and Costa Rica to participate in IWAVE.

Under the project, the IAEA aims to build the capacity of member-states and assist countries in gathering and using scientific information to fully assess the availability and quality of water resources, contributing to the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people worldwide without access to clean drinking water by 2015.

In their Groundwater Resources and Vulnerability Assessment of the Philippines plan for the IWAVE project, the PNRI, the NWRB, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) will collaborate on the design and application of isotope hydrology techniques with data analysis and interpretation in Water Resources Region 2 and 10 through a technical contract.

The project will cover the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino province in Region 2, and Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Sur and Agusan del Norte in Region 10.

The isotope hydrology approaches that are developed and tested will be replicated in other water critical areas which will be undertaken within the 2014-2015 IAEA Technical Cooperation project.

The Philippines has prepared for the IWAVE pioneering participation when in 2011, the PNRI, the NWRB and MGB with the participation of other water agencies began developing a Philippine Hydrological Gap Plan which agrees to fill the technology, expertise, infrastructure and investments needed.

The report was completed in August 2012 and published the following month.