First PhD in Environmental Sciences proposes domestic wastewater treatment with constructed wetlands
SANTO DOMINGO- The wastewater produced in the home could be treated by means of constructed wetlands, with the purpose of manipulating biological processes within a semi-controlled natural environment, as stated by Yvelisse Pérez, Solid Waste Coordinator of the Ministry of the Environment , first doctor in Environmental science of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) and first to support a thesis in this postgraduate.
“These technologies are cheap, and they are easy to operate. So, why not the builders sacrifice a space in their construction project to have a wastewater treatment system?" questioned the doctor, who finished her postgraduate course, with the advice of doctors Ulises Jáuregui Haza, coordinator of the Doctorate in Environmental Sciences and the Sargasso Interdisciplinary Group (GIS-INTEC) and Daniel García Cortés, both INTEC teachers.
The researcher explained that the projects mostly use septic tanks to store and treat wastewater. “In 2016, there were only 79 wastewater treatment plants in the Dominican Republic, and most of them had collapsed due to population growth. We have 394 locations between municipal districts and the National District, for such a small number of treatment systems,” she said.
The research included the assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of domestic wastewater treatment systems based on constructed wetlands, as well as technological risks and environmental impact, with a life cycle analysis approach, in urban and peri-urban areas of the Jarabacoa municipality, La Vega province.
Pérez cataloged his research as a database that will serve to develop and improve existing wastewater treatment systems. “That is my scientific contribution: to be able to find 53 accidental sequences that lead to the contamination of the environment, integrate new defenses and go from a facility that was high risk to one of lower risk, with low and moderate risks. This is an interesting contribution to the international community, ”he pointed out.
In the presentation of the thesis research, the INTEC professors Solhanlle Bonilla and Geralda Díaz and Elena Rosa Domínguez, professor at the Central University of Las Villas, Cuba, served as evaluators. The readers of the thesis were José Vásquez from the Technical Institute for Higher Studies in Environment and Natural Resources (ITESMARENA) and the consultant on environmental issues Héctor Ledesma, all PhDs in Environmental Sciences.
Domínguez evaluated the adaptation of the materials to the country's environmental conditions as positive, while Díaz classified the thesis as "an excellent production that serves as a reference for future research."
The researcher showed interest in sharing the results of her project with decision makers from public institutions so that they can apply the information in construction projects for the city and the treatment of its groundwater.