Olivarez pushes for flood gate, pumping station as a long-term solution to flooding

Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez is pushing for the installation of a flood gate and pumping station in the City to prevent a repeat of the clogging of trash that led to flooding in some parts of Paranaque.

“Ito (flood gate and pumping stations) po ay kabilang sa nga itinuturing nating long-term solution laban sa baha at pagpasok ng basura sa daluyan ng tubig mula sa Manila Bay at mga karatig lugar,” Olivarez said.

Initial plans for the facilities were discussed by the City Mayor with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Don Artes, and other officials during their inspection of clearing operations of the garbage that clogged the Baclaran channel last week.

He said that the proposed flood gate to be constructed between Brgys. Don Galo and La Huerta in Paranaque City would prevent seawater and garbage from going into the Parañaque River from Manila Bay during bad weather and high tide.

“Ang atin pong Parañaque River ay di lang nagsisilbing daluyan ng tubig palabas ng ating lungsod at iba pang karatig-lugar. Tuwing masama ang panahon at high tide, ito rin po ang pinapasukan ang tubig pabalik sa atin, kaya nagkakaroon ng baha. Dito po papasok ang pangangailangan natin sa flood gate,” he said.

In case heavy rains coincide with high tide, a pumping station would remove accumulated rain water from upstream areas and release it to Manila Bay, hand-in-hand with the flood gate which prevents water from coming back, he explained.

Water from upstream areas in neigboring towns and provinces carry garbage that pass through the Paranaque River and into the bay. “Ang basurang ito ang siya ring bumabalik sa atin sa tuwing may masamang panahon at high tide, gaya ng nangyari sa Baclaran channel,” Olivarez said.

The City Mayor also said that the MMDA has repaired the trash trap previously installed at the Baclaran channel. That device broke due to the sheer quantity of garbage pushed into the channel at the height of the Habagat and high tide. Two more similar contraptions are being set up along the channel, with the help of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), as reinforcement.

“Ito po ay mga imprastrukturang magsisilbi bilang panangga natin sa baha at basura sa pangmatagalan,” Olivarez said of the installed trash traps and construction of a flood gate and pumping stations.

The Baclaran water channel is an L-shaped manmade canal that starts from Manila Bay and goes inward towards the LRT-1 Redemptorist Station, before turning north towards EDSA extension in Pasay City. It stretches for an estimated two kilometers and is about 60 meters wide.

Earlier this month, the southwest monsoon, enhanced by tropical cyclones that passed by the country caused the waters of Manila Bay to swell. “This coincided with high tide that pushed more water into the channel, along with hundreds of tons of garbage that came from neighboring cities and provinces,” Olivarez said.

The mayor, however, stressed that the only way to put an end to the garbage problem in Manila Bay and waterways would still be discipline among residents and strict enforcement of laws against illegal waste disposal, especially by cities and towns surrounding Manila Bay and upstream areas.

Over 100 towns and cities, including Parañaque, share the coasts and upstream areas of Manila Bay.