P40M city flood control projects to stop flooding

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio City District Engineering Office of the Department of Public Works and Highways her bared completion of two flood control projects that will abate perennial flooding problem in low-lying barangays within the City Camp lagoon which is also undergoing dredging and widening.

The two projects include the P10 million drainage rehabilitation project in Quezon Hill barangay and the P30 million upgrading of the drainage and road pavement along Ferguzon road to help divert the huge volume of water coming from the upper barangays so as not to flood the City Camp lagoon area and cause serious problems to the local government.

Despite the unpredictable weather condition that hampers the swift implementation of the public works projects, Ireneo S. Gallato, DPWH-BCDEO district engineer, said work is on to minimize the inconvenience caused by the closure of major roads to the motoring public, especially to students and workers in both the government and private sectors.

According to him, the implementation of the drainage rehabilitation projects is part of the overall approach in order to help reduce the huge volume of water flowing into the City Camp lagoon during heavy rains and causing flooding in the area which is to the detriment of thousands of residents living around the bowl-shaped body of water that spills to the Asin river in Crystal Cave barangay.

Included in the on-going works will be the widening and clearing of the drainage system in Quezon Hill in order to connect with the system along Ferguzon road so that the volume of water will flow freely to the tributaries of the Balili river, one of the major river systems in the city that flows down to the capital town of La Trinidad, Benguet and reduce the volume of water flowing to the City Camp lagoon area.

Due to the delayed works of the contractors as a result of the continuous monsoon rains over the past seven days, Gallato appealed to local residents and motorists for patience and understanding on the inconvenience caused to them by the projects since their patience and understanding will surely result to lasting convenience once the projects will be completed on time.

Gallato said rehabilitation and improvement of the city’s drainage system will help prevent damages to be inflicted in the city’s roads considering that the huge volume of water supposedly flowing on the road surfaces will be diverted into the river systems where they will spillover so as not to create problems to people living near bodies of water.