Garbage carpets a portion of Tejero creek in Cebu City , causing floods in adjacent areas of barangay Tejero. How else will rainwater empty out to the sea? (CDN FILE PHOTO)
There’s a high price to pay for unplanned urban development.
After Thursday’s floodwater receded in Cebu City following six hours of continuous rain, city officials took stock of a familiar problem.
Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival said street flooding was no longer a surprise because the city has become a “concrete jungle”, with too many surfaces paved and nowhere for excess water to go.
He said remedies have been identified, such as the city ordinance he sponsored requiring building owners to install water cisterns or tanks, and the establishment of gabion dams in the uplands.
The two are means of storing or slowing down the rush of rainwater to prevent flooding in the city.
“But even City Hall doesn’t have a cistern,” he said.
NO SRP SEWAGE SYSTEM
In the 300-hectare South Road Properties, which has no sewage system provided, Vice Mayor Edgar Labella said legislation will have to be passed to require private developers there to interconnect their private drainage systems.
He said the knee-deep flooding of the SRP’s Mambaling access road on Thursday was an “eye opener” underscoring the need to push the drainage master plan proposed by Mayor Michael Rama.
“The SRP is a raw lot and doesn’t have a master plan. The SRP management has to make consultations with the city engineering office about this,” he said.
The reclamation project is built at an elevation one and a half meters higher than the highest tide so that excess water would flow to the sea.
But adjacent areas at a lower elevation now suffer flooding.
SRP manager Roberto “Bu” Varquez met yesterday morning with SM Seaside City mall officials led by Sherry Tuvilla, regional operations head for SM Supermalls whose attention was called to possible deficiencies in their drainage system.
Rain water from SM’s construction site and the 26-hectare Lot 8 occupied by the San Pedro Calungsod templete flowed down and flooded the SRP’s Mambaling access road.
It also flooded a portion of the Cebu South Coastal Road.
The SM construction site is built three to four meters from the ground, but Varquez said the drainage system, while adequate for normal rain, can’t cope with abnormal rain levels like the one experienced in the Sept. 18 downpour.
The site also lacks a water tank to store rainwater and prevent a heavy outflow, he said, while loose soil from the site entered the drainage system clogging their waterways.
“They said they are willing to put additional canals to make sure so the water doesn’t overflow to the South Coastal Road,” Varquez said after their meeting.
HIGH RAINFALL
Thursday’s unusual volume of rainfall in Cebu was recorded at 60.7 millimeters or the equivalent of ten days of rain in September.
The downpour left 50 per cent of Cebu City streets under water, including some areas that had never suffered flooding before, according to the Cebu City Traffic Operations (Citom) management.
SM management said it would help the city government install 36 inch culverts to replace the 24 inch culverts in Lot 8, according to Varquez.
Varquez said SM offered to provide the materials needed for the drainage improvement of the prime lot which is across Seaside City. The parcel of land is property that SM has expressed interest in acquiring as one of three SRP lots that the mayor wants to sell at public auction.
Filinvest, a joint venture partner of Cebu City, has its own large project at SRP on the other side of SM Seaside City. Filinvest is building condominiums and retail facilities, but Varquez said the city has not had any problems with the drainage system of Filinvest.
NO COORDINATION
Cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay have their own drainage master plans, but these plans are not coordinated.
“The biggest problem of storm water management lies in the lack of information on conditions of flooding,” said consultants of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is helping prepare a roadmap for “sustainable urban development in Metro Cebu” as part of the Mega Cebu 2050 vision.
“There is no estimation about economic losses caused by flooding. If the condition of storm water facilities is not improved in the future, flooding in the Metro Cebu area will become more widespread and inundation duration would become longer,” said the JICA’s Interim II report.
As a short-term priority, JICA strongly endorsed implementation of a “Comprehensive Study for a Metro Cebu Integrated Flood and Drainage System Master Plan.”
This Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is planning to undertake the study, with input from Mega Cebu proponents in the private sector. Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said he plans to enlist a foreign consultant to oversee the study.
“The draft Terms of Reference of this study is sufficient to address the weaknesses of the previous master plans. There it is strongly recommended to implement the study in the short term,” said JICA consultants in their report approved this month by the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board (MCDCB) headed by Gov. Hilario Davide and co-chaired by businessman Roberto Aboitiz and Cebu City Mayor Rama.
CLEAN UP CANALS
Cebu City Councilor Eugenio Gabuya said he wants to speed up the bidding to purchase an excavator to unclog canals.
Pagasa Visayas chief Oscar Tabada warned council members during a special session held on Thursday afternoon to expect more rain.
Aside from the seasonal “habagat” or southwest monsoon, seven to eight more typhoons are expected in the country before year end.
Even the chances of El Nino expected to hit the country in the last quarter has has already weakened by 65 percent, he said, quoting different global prediction models.
Councilor Gerardo Carillo raised the need to dredge silted creeks and rivers before rains resume.
The Council’s declaration of a state of calamity in Cebu City is supposed to hasten bidding for dredging equipment and other drainage improvement projects.
Vice Mayor Labella said P200 million worth of drainage projects have yet to be implemented in the city. Another P100 million is for the improvement of the embankment of the Mahiga Creek.
He clarified that the calamity declaration was not for the release of calamity aid to individuals since no lives were lost and there was no infrastructure damage in Thursday’s flooding.
“That is not necessary. But that is an executive discretion so we leave it up to the mayor to decide,” said Labella.