The Department of Science and Technology Regional Office IV-A (DOST-CALABARZON) has started the establishment of the Modular Ecology-Friendly Domestic Wastewater (MEDOWW) Treatment System, a local water treatment system, to help improve the wastewater problem in Anilao, Mabini, Batangas.
The MEDOWW Treatment system is set to improve the wastewater management of three major sites in the municipality of Mabini namely — the Municipal Tourism Office, Anilao Port Public Comfort Room, and Anilao Market.
Since Mabini is one of the tourist destinations in Batangas that enjoys a large number of visitors every year, Brgy. Anilao generates solid and liquid wastes, which pose a serious threat to its rich marine waters.
Anilao boasts its popular dive spots and is part of the world’s center of the center of marine shorefish biodiversity.
The adoption of MEDOWW Treatment System technology is one of DOST-CALABARZON’s answers to the call of the Local Government Unit of Mabini (LGU-Mabini) for science and technology-based solutions to mitigate the environmental pollution brought about by untreated wastewater.
The technology uses a flexible design for domestic wastewater treatment and establishes an effective combination of anaerobic and aerobic mechanisms. It operates with the application of “Vigormin organominerals” which hastens the decomposition of harmful bacteria that lodge in septic tanks. The combined effect of MEDOWW design and application of vigormin is already proven to improve the characteristics of community domestic wastewater.
What makes the MEDOWW acceptable to Brgy. Anilao is it reduces health risks due to sanitation problems, ineffective septic system, drainage system failure, and water contamination. It also promotes responsible water usage, which is significant to a globally-renowned dive site like Anilao. More than that, the MEDOWW technology ensures that effluents meet the requirements of the DENR Administrative Order (DAO) 2016-08 known as the Water Quality Guidelines and General Effluent Standards of 2016.
Both the MEDOWW Treatment System and Vigormin organominerals are technologies developed by Dr. Merlinda Palencia, a Chemical Engineering Professor at the Adamson University with funding from the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD).
Moreover, the adoption of this technology was funded by DOST-CALABARZON and the Envigor Natural Products Manufacturing Inc.— a spinoff company, facilitates its construction based on the technical specifications and design requirements of Dr. Palencia.
The said project sites in Anilao will serve as the model for resort owners, establishments, and even households to adopt the MEDOWW technology and use vigormin organominerals.
The establishment of the MEDOWW Treatment System is expected to be completed in March 2022.# (John Maico M. Hernandez, DOST-CALABARZON)
