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Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he has prioritized the construction of proposed flood-controlling “mini-dams” to address water level problems in rivers and lowland areas during heavy rains.
The mayor said he wants to start the project before his term ends in 2010.
The plan is to construct at least one of the six mini-dams that drainage experts recommended as part of the city’s drainage master plan.
Osmeña said that to start the project, all he needed was a project estimate, which could be provided by City Planning Officer Nigel Paul Villarete, who was still on an official trip in Japan.
Once an estimate was made, it could then be included in the city’s budget.
“I will look for the money, even if we have to realign something. I am just waiting for Paul Villarete to produce the program of works and estimates,” he said.
The mayor said it was inappropriate to rehabilitate drainage systems in low areas of the city without first regulating the flow of water from higher areas.
During heavy rain, a number of low-lying areas in the city get flooded due to clogged or inadequate drainage.
The mayor intends to control the amount of water that reaches the lowlands by retaining most of it in dams before they get to the city.
The drainage masterplan developed for the city called for the construction of six mini-dams in the north district, spread out in barangays Busay, Banilad, Lahug, Sapangdaku and Kalunasan.
Osmeña said only one dam could be built at a time.
“We will first build one. And if that’s not good enough, we’ll build another. If that’s still not enough, then we’ll build all six. Then you can be sure that when it rains, no water will flood the (lowlands). But we will not build all six right away,” Osmeña said.
The drainage masterplan has a target completion year of 2020. Once completed, it was expected to address flooding in the city.
Until then, barangays will have to settle on short-term solutions, such as cleaning up clogged drainage systems, the mayor said.
