ISU and PNRI Collaboration marks its target for precise hydrology studies.
The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) and Isabela State University (ISU) recently collaborated to conduct studies that will use isotopic hydrology techniques primarily on the watershed of the Cagayan River and in the other parts of the Region II. The pursuit is in part of the Smart Water Infrastructure Management (SWIM) Research Project that aims to develop an integrated water resources management in the region including policies and intervention.
The memorandums of understanding and agreement and this contract was signed on March 4, 2022. Prior to that, PNRI begins the isotopic hydrology seminar series on December 23, 2021, and ended its 6th and last session last march 28 2022. After a holy week, five staff from PNRI including Raymond Sucgang, PNRI project leader came to ISU to demonstrate how to conduct a field test for getting isotopic data. The site was selected using GIS-based criteria.
Some of the target deliverables are the estimation of the groundwater recharge rate from the monitoring stations. This will be done using classical and isotopic hydrology techniques for comparison on both pre and post-monsoon. Another one is the saltwater intrusion investigation of the stations near the seaside such as Abulug, Cagayan which they visited on the second day of fieldwork. Mr. Sucgang layout further other studies which can be conducted using the said techniques such as pollution determination of the groundwater and so much more.
The five staff members stayed in Cagayan Valley for five days, teaching all isotopic techniques to researchers working on the project, allowing them to better understand and assess the quantity and sustainability of water in the region in the hope of better and happier water resources through the eyes of the atom and isotopes.
