Researchers reiterate DR has low coverage in wastewater treatment

Within the framework of the Dominican Science Week, the institutions INTEC, MESCYT, Fondo Agua Yaque del Norte and Plan Yaque gave the workshop "Design, construction and operation of constructed wetlands for the treatment of domestic wastewater." They hope that the solution is also implemented in Greater Santo Domingo

SANTO DOMINGO. - “The country has quite low coverage in wastewater treatment, and in fact the impact that this lack of coverage has on people's health and at the ecosystem level has not been sufficiently investigated,” he stated. Enmanuel Vargas, project engineer of the Plan for the Development of the Yaque del Norte River Basin (Plan Yaque), during the workshop Design, Construction and Operation of Constructed Wetlands for the Treatment of Domestic Wastewater.

The workshop given at Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), was developed during the Dominican Science Week and aimed to learn the basic principles of the design, construction and operation of constructed wetlands for the treatment of domestic wastewater.

The training was coordinated by Ulises Jáuregui, research professor at INTEC, sponsored by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MESCyT) within the framework of a project of the Dominican Fund for Science and Technology (FONDOCYT); Yaque del Norte Water Fund and the Yaque Plan.

When presenting the workshop, Vargas explained the importance of having a portfolio of technologies for wastewater treatment in addition to traditional systems, such as artificial wetlands, in order to respond more efficiently to the latent problem of access to water. sanitation of the country.

Alex Rosario, civil engineer with experience in the development of nature-based health solution technologies, assured that constructed wetlands are a solution that can be assumed at the government level since, of the 35 that have been built in the country, there are communities that presented serious problems of sanitation, they did not have nearby infrastructure and with the construction of this system they were able to change that reality.

“The most surprising or peculiar thing is that this solution that emulates nature is easy to build, low maintenance and we understand that it meets all the characteristics to make it a solution that can be adapted on a large scale,” he explained.

Walkiria Pérez, executive director of the Yaque del Norte Water Fund, thanked the team of teachers made up of Jáuregui, Vargas and Rosario for the training. “From the Yaque del Norte Water Fund, the nature-based solutions that we could undertake were identified, and that they were like demonstration projects to be able to promote, not only demonstrate that it is a technology that works, but also train actors from different institutions to that technology would multiply,” he commented.

Likewise, he pointed out the importance of institutions such as the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MIMARENA) encourage this type of projects. “It has become difficult to have a resolution that enables the appropriate permits to implement these constructed wetland solutions in an agile manner,” he said.

The workshop included topics related to sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean, wetland design principles, operation and maintenance of subsurface horizontal flow wetlands, among others.

The Yaque del Norte Water Fund, which is a public-private partnership of civil society to contribute to nature-based solutions to improve water security and sustainable management of the Yaque del Norte basin, is a pioneer in supporting the development of constructed wetlands for the treatment of domestic water in the country.

The Yaque Plan is a second-level non-governmental organization (NGO) and unites the efforts of 32 State and civil society organizations, for the protection, conservation and sustainable management of the natural resources of the Yaque del Norte River Basin, through plans, programs and projects that channel human, physical, technological and financial resources.