DENR 7 to Build Water Impounding Structures to Solve Flooding

The state’s environment chief on Thursday said the only way to solve flooding problems in the lowland areas of Cebu City is the creation of small water impounding areas in the uplands.

Regional Director Dr. Isabelo R. Montejo of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)7 made this assessment hours after he toured the Sapangdaku river in barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City, yesterday.

Montejo said his visit to the area was to officially see how the river is taken cared of by the people living nearby.

“I’m just confirming the reports I received regarding the dirts and garbage mounted in the riverside which is a major challenge on the people’s health,” he said.

At the same time, his tour was in response to the DENR central office inquiries about his plans to mitigate the flooding problems hounding the Cebu City residents during rainy season.

According to Montejo, he already prepared some designs of the water catchment areas to be submitted to their central office in Manila for possible budget. The said small impounding structures to be built in the river’s up streams shall hold the rain water from going directly into the river, thus to maintain the Sapangdako river’s deepness and even its water current roughness, Montejo said.

The DENR regional chief also said that once his structural design is approved and a budget is available, he will go back again to the area to exactly pinpoint the specific location where to plant these structures and also its number.

Montejo said this is the only way to solve the flooding problems besetting Cebu City’s low -lying areas particularly on its downtown thoroughfares.

As to the budget, Montejo did not yet specify how much the amount the government must spend for this project, “as it will depend on the number of structures to be built”, he said.