The Department of Science and Technology (DoST) is exploring desalination technology to address the depleting water supply in the capital amid El Niño.
According to Niñaliza H. Escorial, deputy executive director of the DoST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), the technology has two objectives: to provide water while also producing salt.
The Angat Dam, which supplies over 90% of Metro Manila's potable water, has dropped to 160.71 meters, leaving it less than a meter above its critical water level of 160 meters.
The DoST-PCIEERD's desalination technology efforts focus on improving the efficiency of previously developed local technologies, particularly the membrane system that will filter better and faster.
Once fully developed, the technology aims to be easily deployable, with initial plans to install it in island communities experiencing a shortage of potable water.
These areas are ideal locations for the technology, as it produces salt, which could help reduce the country's reliance on imports, with around 83% of the salt distributed in the country coming from abroad.
The DoST-PCIEERD's desalination technology remains under development, with a target completion date of 2028.
