Last March 22-23,
2018, the first World Water Day (WWD), with the theme “Answer is in Nature;
Nature for Water”, was held in De La
Salle University-Manila. It was
organized by the Civil Engineering Department - Hydraulics and Water Resources
Engineering Division and the Civil Engineering Society. World Water Day is sponsored by Healthy
Family Purified Water which is an advocacy by Manila Water Total
Solutions. By celebrating World Water
Day, the organizers promoted sustainability and awareness regarding the
emerging technologies in water resources engineering and how nature is the
solution to water-related problems.
DLSU World Water Day Participants
On the first day of
the celebration of the World Water Day, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held in
Velasco Bench 3 to officially open the booth.
The Gokongwei College of Engineering Dean, Dr. Jonathan Rivera Dungca,
the Vice Chairperson of Civil Engineering Department, Dr. Mario De Leon,
alongside Dr. Marla Maniquiz-Redillas, Engr. Richard De Jesus, Engr. Joenel
Galupino, Engr. Maria Emilia Sevilla, Engr. Paolo Ian Lucero, and Engr. Miller
Cutora were present during the opening ceremony of the booth.
The booth design
itself revolved around the theme, where numerous civil engineering students,
and professors were wearing blue and were seen participating in the booth
activities. After the ribbon cutting, videos about water resources from UNICEF
and civil engineering students who took CIVWARE in the previous term were shown
to the audience. Free bottled water were also distributed to students who
decided posted photos or selfies online using WWD’s official hashtags,
On the second day of
the celebration of World Water Day, a seminar was held in the Don Enrique T.
Yuchengco Hall of DLSU-Manila. Civil Engineering students especially students
taking up water-related subjects and students specializing in Hydraulics and
Water Resources Engineering actively participated in the discussion during the
seminar. The invited speakers, Engr.
Trevor Morrish-Hale from Royal HaskoningDHV, Engr. Anya Arguelles from CH2M,
and Dr. Renan Tanhueco from the CE Department, each talked about their research
and experiences in the water industry field and were able to enhance the
knowledge of the students.
Engr. Morrish-Hale,
the first speaker discussed about the wonders and technologies of land
reclamation. He started the talk by asking the audience about what they know
about the sea level rise, and continued on to explain how reclamation is being
done, as well as the problems that can be encountered when conducting it. Dr.
Tanhueco, on the other hand, shared his case study, in partnership with other
researchers who were also faculty members in DLSU, perceptions towards the use
of eco-toilets in rural or low communities. The benefits of using eco-toilets,
such as water conservation, nutrient supplementation for plants, and refined
sanitation, were emphasized during his talk. The third and last speaker, Engr.
Arguelles talked about the treatment of wastes, specifically industrial wastes.
It was also evident
that the speakers left a significant impact to each student inside the hall
because students became engaged in the discussion and asked several questions
related to the presentations.
The first World Water
Day at DLSU proved to be a successful one because not only the CE Students were
able to take home additional knowledge but also the students that were enticed
into the booth. In the following years,
World Water Day will become a widely celebrated event by everyone.
“The Answer is in Nature”
by Rachelle Nicole A. Lao & Mariamae Francia Montejo
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