FIVE of 34 entries emerged as winners of the inaugural Philippine Water Challenge (PhlWC), a platform to generate solutions, support improvements, and expand innovations in the country’s water and sanitation sector.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently joined representatives from the Philippine government, the Embassy of Israel in the Philippines, and the private sector to announce the five winners.

Camarines Sur’s Libmanan Water District won the grand prize for its Low-Cost Digitization and Automation Solution in the Management of Water Distribution System that uses an electronic device to record both water volume and water pressure.

Coded and assembled locally, this solution will enable water utilities to understand their operations in real-time with automated collection and transmission of data to their central system.

Libmanan Water District was selected by a judging committee composed of representatives from the water and sanitation sector. It received the grand prize of Php250,000.

The four other winning solutions are:

1. Upgrading access to affordable clean water and a holistic approach to improving the lives of disadvantaged urban communities (Tubig at Pag-Asa/EV Water and Life)

2. A customizable and reusable zeolite water filter for low-resource settings (ADAM Tech)

3. A portable combined water purification and sterilization machine (Ozone Dynamic Ventures)

4. A technology that converts wastewater to fertilizer (De La Salle University-Araneta)

Each winner received a cash grant of at least P100,000, mentoring sessions, and networking support.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Cristina Lee-Pisco