Are spillways a probable measure to mitigate flooding?
Even though Bagyong Enteng left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) last September 4, several areas of the country are still under severe flooding. And when Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Carlos Primo David analyzed floodwater runoff the following day, he mentioned several intervention measures, such as spillways.
An Idea From Long Ago
The idea of creating spillways in the Metro dates as early as 2013, when the government of Laguna proposed a Pacific spillway to mitigate flooding in the area.
This project saw the Laguna de Bay having 2 channels: one on its right, where excess water will flow to the Pacific Ocean, and one on its left, where the water will spill through Parañaque before reaching Manila Bay.
However, then Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson said that this project wasn’t a priority for the national government. Instead, they focused on proposing the Road-Ring Dike and a flood dam at Sierra Madre.
Run It Back Again
Over a decade later, Undersecretary David brought up these infrastructure projects as long-term solutions that are more in DPWH’s territory.
“There are a lot of intervention measures…yung Mega Dike ng Marikina River; ito ay proposal ng DPWH. Meron din yung widening ng Manggahan Floodway, and from Laguna Lake ay bagong spillway palabas ng Manila Bay. Malalaking mga proyekto ito,” he stated.
He is aware that these projects are ambitious and will take a lot of time, effort, and funds to execute them. Yet he emphasized that the relationship between DENR and DPWH is doing well now. So there’s no need to play “good cop, bad cop” when it comes to flood mitigation.
READ: DENR: drastic measures, whole-of-society collaboration needed to solve Metro Manila flooding
Building spillways, as well as other infrastructure projects, is not an overnight job. However, the idea that Laguna had before could have been executed already. Let’s just hope that their current proposals will be both effective and efficient for future floods.
