VIGAN CITY,  June 9  (PIA) –  The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) pushes for the ceramic water filter technology which answers the  need for safe drinking water in rural areas of the country.

Provincial Director Ramon Sumabat of DOST-Ilocos Sur, said Vigan City has strengthened its advocacy in becoming Ilocos Region’s only manufacturer of the clay water filter technology of the DOST with the city government being the latest and  second manufacturer.

The first ever filter in the region was unveiled in August 2015 by Secretary Mario Montejo at the University of Northern Philippines  Ceramics Research and Training Center (CRTC).  Vigan is the only place in the region which has the  type of clay that has passed the DOST standards in the manufacture of the water filter, he said.

“The ceramic water filter technology answers one of the most crucial issues in every Filipino household in the country’s slum and rural areas – lack of safe, clean drinking water,” Sumabat said.

This technology, called the Water Purification System Using Ceramic Pot-Type Filter (WPS/CPF, was developed by DOST’s Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI).

The clay water filter  can purify tap,  deep well and raw water from ponds and springs as it has three percent suspended particles or slit and can convert water from these sources to safe drinking water, the ITDI website said.

The ceramic filter system is made from clay used in making pottery, coated with anti-microbial agent that can replace the chlorination process to purify or treat water.  Having  passed the Philippine National Standards for drinking water in terms of microbiological and chemical analysis, it can reduce the most probable number of Eschericia coli,  to less than 1.1.

E.coli, are bacteria found in the environment, foods, and intestines of people and animals.  Other groups of this bacteria can make people sick, cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, pneumonia and other diseases, according to the  website of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

As one of DOST’s priority programs, the technology helps uplift immediate and long-term socio-economic conditions of Filipinos, and helps reach the Philippine Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of increasing the country’s accessibility to potable water by 82.9 percent  in 2007 to 86.6 percent n 2016, Sumabat said. (VHS/ICR/PIA1 Ilocos Sur)