SRP not spared from city flooding

The flood scene at SRP.

WITH unexpected flooding yesterday in the South Road Properties (SRP), private drainage systems there will need to be redesigned and improved, city officials said.

SRP manager Roberto “Bu” Varquez said he is meeting today with the management of SM Seaside City, where construction of a mall and residential-commercial facilities are ongoing.

Floodwater coming from the commercial development and the vacant lot occupied by the San Pedro Calungsod templete poured into the Mambaling access road of the SRP and submerged the four-lane road in knee deep water.

“SM has the right design for their drainage plan. It is technically sound but it was proven that their drainage is only good when there is normal rainfall, not when there is heavy rain,” Varquez said in an executive session of the Cebu City Council which was called for an assessment of yesterday’s flooding.

Mayor Michael Rama also called SM’s Hans Sy yesterday to ask his help in improving their drainage system.

Varquez said a second meeting will be scheduled with Filinvest Land Inc. to discuss the need to redesign their culverts.

“We cannot be inviting foreign investors and have them experience flooding at the SRP,” he said.
Varque said the SRP was supposed to be a green field and not a flooded area.

Asked how the flooding could occur, Varquez said SM Seaside City was built two to three meters higher than ground level. Since most of their space is already cemented, rainwater would flow to low-lying areas like the Mambaling access road.

He said the elevation of SRP is one and a half meters higher than the highest tide, so any excess water from the area would flow into the sea.

As of 3 p.m. , the Mambaling road was still submerged in water and traffic had to be to an industrial road behind the Bigfoot studio to reach the Talisay access of the Cebu South Coastal Road.

“Its drainage system is designed for the South Coastal Road not for the SRP. When the SRP was developed, we had to inform developers to make their own drainage system that will bypass the SCR,” he said.

Varquez said the SM project site had drainage systems that would bring the flow of water from their establishment into the sea through “holes” made in the South Coastal Road. Two more culverts were installed to dispose water into a creek that separates the SRP from barangay Mambaling.
Filinvest disposes of flood water into the creek through culverts.

“We have to redesign the size of their culverts,” said Varquez.

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