DAVAO CITY – With the prevailing problem of flooding here, the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) has set up plans to rehabilitate drainage, creeks, and other waterways in various parts of the city.
In a press briefing Thursday afternoon, engineer Leonard Palban, head of the CEO - Urban Drainage Maintenance Division, said the rehabilitation is deemed necessary after they discovered that some waterways are heavily silted, causing floods during heavy rains.
“We are set to rehabilitate the drainage in these areas, while continuously conducting cleanup activities in the waterway system,” Palban said.
He said the CEO is slated to open the pre-bidding process for the materials to be used in the drainage project on June 23 for its completion within one year.
Last week, floodwaters submerged critical areas in the city, including the Damosa-Lanang area, which pointed to the siltation of waterways and clogged canals due to improper solid waste disposal.
The drainage in the flooded areas, he said, has become shallow due to siltation even minimal rainfall causes water to overflow from the waterway system to the streets.
Meanwhile, the CEO is also slated to start the PHP40 million project to construct additional inlets beneath the city center to augment existing urban waterways.
Drain inlets collect water from the streets, which is conveyed to the main waterway system.
“The purpose of this is to add more inlets to the areas where inlets are far in between,” Palban said.
He said low-lying sections of the Laverna Hills, Diversion Road, and Sandawa Road would also have additional inlets to let water pass more easily into the main drainage system. (PNA)
