Santo Domingo.- The planting of a set floating macrophyte plants along the Ozama and Isabela rivers could significantly contribute to lower the presence of the cholera bacteria in those bodies of water, affirmed the agronomist Rómulo Perez on Thursday.

Perez, together with the team from Environmental Solutions propose a planting program they affirm is of low cost for the government, and noted that those types of plants have the capacity to remove nutrients from humid environment, such as swamps and riverbanks and have even bee used to clean up sewage water in Spain.

Interviewed by newspaper Nacional, the researcher said the macrophyte plants have the capacity to consume and deplete organic residues, preventing the cholera bacteria from feeding and reproducing.

Perez noted that the plants can be planted through the done Nutritious Flow Lamina (NFT) system, where plants like reeds, rushes or asparagines form a floating carpet on the river or channel surface, while their submerged roots and stems create a support base for numerous microorganisms that degrade most of the organic matter and absorb the mineral nutrients, thus starving the cholera bacteria.

The agronomist added that the first experimental station of this type was constructed in Madrid’s Barajas airport, to prove the natural system’s capacity in channels or pools to prevent major clotting of the green filters in artificial wetlands.