We continue to enhance our water management capabilities

Through the Federal Program “Equipar Ciencia” of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MINCYT), the National Institute of Water (INA) has donated 3 medium and large equipment to strengthen the technical capacities of the headquarters of Córdoba and Santa Fe and the hydraulics plant of the Aziza water complex.

In a law in Casa Rosada, last Monday, January 17, it was announced that 207 medium and large teams of 69 scientific and technological institutions from 24 jurisdictions of our country would be awarded for this second phase of the program. This is a historic investment of $8.3 billion on top of the $7.8 billion awarded in June 2022.

The ceremony was presided over by President of the Nation Alberto Fernandez and accompanied by Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Daniel Filmos. Health Minister Carla Visotti and Social Development Minister Victoria Tolosa Paz. The meeting was attended by the Minister of Planning, Science, Technology and Innovation Policies, Diego Hurtado. Secretary of the Technological Scientific Detail, Juan Pablo Paz and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Institutional Coordination, Pablo Núñez. In addition to representatives of the provinces, members of the Federal Council for Science and Technology, recipients of equipment and distinguished guests. The President of the Iraqi National Alliance, Juan Carlos Bertoni, participated in the meeting.

The Equipar Ciencia Program aims to strengthen the capacities of the institutions of the National Science, Technology and Innovation System, of which the National Institute of Culture is a part as a national organism. For the arbitration process, consideration was given to the order of priorities sent by each institution, the pursuit of a balanced federal distribution and the avoidance of duplication of equipment in the same jurisdiction—except when sufficiently justified—in order to improve effective and shared use of the same.

The INA Regional Coastal Center, located in Santa Fe County, has acquired a multi-beam echo sounder. It represents the most modern equipment for bathymetry and high-precision examination of the bottom of rivers and seas. It allows for river and seafloor mapping, obtaining relevant information for navigation in the waters of jurisdiction and national interest, and for protecting our resources. It is used in bathymetry and geophysics studies and to determine the morphological development of beds with great accuracy and speed of work. It allows, in a single survey, to generate multiple fan-shaped beams covering up to 150m wide and up to 550m deep submerged river and ocean floors.

For its part, the Institute’s Center for the Semi-Arid Region, located in the province of Córdoba, will acquire an acoustic Doppler current flowmeter (ADCP) for measuring flows and bathymetry. It will allow the implementation of advanced experimental techniques to determine runoff flows in rivers and canals in the central region. Also in order to improve and implement experimental techniques to characterize hydrodynamic processes and sediment transport in different river systems that allow determination of runoff velocities and depths. Similarly, measuring the hydraulic properties of rivers to implement hydrodynamic models. Realization and calibration of flow-height (HQ) curves.
Finally, the country will have a 3D wave generator that will be provided by the Hydraulics Laboratory, located in the Ezeiza Hybrid Pole. This equipment constitutes a unique tool in Argentina and will be used to perform tests on physical models in the maritime field, including: studies of coastal infrastructure, development of ports and waterways, evaluation of offshore energy projects, studies of beach vulnerability, and others. .

Incorporating these capabilities is a new milestone in strengthening our organization and its role in a comprehensive water management plan of federal scope. As a national body, we support national policies in financing the state’s capabilities in the field of science and technology.

The Program will continue to receive requests for equipment and will award a new award at a date to be confirmed in 2023. Institutions may resubmit equipment requests depending on the operation of the Program.