The Faculty of Engineering at Notre Dame University- Shouf Campus hosted on November 21, 2016 a seminar on Geophysics for Dams and Ground Water Studies. The seminar’s keynote speaker, Dr. Fadi Comair, Director General of Hydraulic and Electrical Resources at the Ministry of Energy and Water, discussed alongside Dr. Michel Hayek, Dean of the Faculty Engineering and other distinguished speakers the pertinent issue of water use and preservation in Lebanon.
Fr. Hanna Tayar, Director of NDU-Shouf Campus, opened the seminar by welcoming the dignitaries, religious and political figures as well as the faculty and students present. Fr. Tayar emphasized the importance of water and its preservation in a country rich in water resources, but which suffers from the lack of proper conservation and exploration strategies. He stressed NDU’s role in shedding light on such a pertinent topic and in helping suggest possible short and long-term solutions that would benefit Lebanon as a whole. Fr. Tayar hoped the seminar would become a launch pad for practical initiatives and enriching scientific discussions.
Dr. Michel Hayek also spoke of the value of water preservation. He pointed out to the importance of the ABET accreditation, that the Faculty of Engineering received in August. The accreditation, Dr. Hayek added, attests to the quality of the Engineering program at NDU and the valuable contributions that such a program is bringing and could further bring to issues such as water preservation and others.
Providing a detailed overview of the government’s ten-year plan for water supply and preservation, Dr. Fadi Comair pointed out that the plan had been put to a halt due to political hindrances. He mentioned that the plan should be revisited and implemented in the near future. Dr. Comair pointed out that a water-saving culture should be promoted in schools. He commended the role of NDU in educating the community, suggesting solutions and promoting a water-saving mindset.
Highlighting NDU’s practical initiatives, Dr. Naji Khoury, Associate Professor Civil Engineering at NDU discussed water conservation projects- he and his team of student at NDU are working on. He demonstrated how dams should be built to avoid having cracks and fissures. (Dr. Khoury provided an overview of the procedures and equipment used for groundwater exploration and geotechnical/geothermal studies.)
Mr. Malek Ghanem, Graduate research assistant at NDU specializing in Audio Magnetotellurics-AMT - for water site location provided an overview of water resources in Lebanon (over 43000 locations), and the AMT technology used for groundwater explorations. He shared valuable data on the newly explored ground water in the Keserwan area.
The seminar ended with shared recommendations for water preservations in Lebanon – in hope, that with the new presidency, these recommendations and many others like them would reach the much needed implementation phase.