DEPW: Suction of floodwater not enough to solve flooding

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) said that suction of floodwater in three barangays in the city would be impractical and may not be enough to solve the problem.

Engineer Kenneth Carmelita Enriquez, the head of the DEPW, said that the suction of the floodwater in Sitio Paradise 3 in Barangay Kinasang-an, Sitio Tabocanal in Barangay Pardo, and Barangay Talamban would cost the city P3,000 per day.

Yet, this is only a temporary solution as once rain falls, the areas will be flooded again. The suction would be both expensive and impractical for the city government.

“Dili na gyod madala og suction kay, impractical kaayo. Kailangan maghimo na gyod tag kaagian sa tubig, we need to restore the waterways,” said Enriquez.

(Suction is not enough and it is impractical. We need to make a path for the water to pass, we need to restore our waterways.)

Enriquez said that in particular, the flooding in Sitio Tabocanal can be solved if the residents would only allow the restoration of the natural waterway in the area.

However, the DEPW already expects strong opposition from the residents especially the owners of those properties which will be affected.

“Naa gyoy mangaigong balay ana kay nagtabon-tabon naman na sila pagtukod nila. If mosakripisyo lang ang uban, mosugot sila himoan nato gamay agianan, mahubas hinay-hinay ang baha,” she said.

(There are houses that will be affected because they covered up the waterway when they built their structures. If some would sacrifice, then the flood will subside.)

In Sitio Paradise 3, the long term and short term solution would both entail asking a private company to open up their property for underground drainage.

Enriquez said that the company built a wall directly blocking the natural passage of water from the water basin going to the Tagunol creek, which is the reason the sitio has been flooded for years.

Even if the DEPW builds a temporary waterway, this would still pass the private property.

“We already sought the help of the City Legal Office on how we can address this problem,” said Enriquez.

As for Barangay Talamban, she said the problem has been there for over two decades and the solution is underway.

A pond nearby the flooded area in Talamban can be the exit for the floodwater if they finalize the new drainage plan.

Enriquez said that the project design has long been studied but has never been implemented.

The plan would be to divert floodwater from the water basin to the pond in three different waterways.

Although Enriquez could not yet give an estimate on the total cost of these projects, she said that these are necessary to solve the “long-lasting” flood of these areas.

She said the solution to flooding is not the temporary removal of the floodwater, but the construction of pathways for water to move by itself. /rcg