Gov’t to Level Reclining Drainage to Avoid Flood

 

BECAUSE OF BAD ENGINEERING

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

CALASIAO, Pangasinan - Because of the incompetence of the previous administrators and inept engineering of a contractor, the District Engineer of the Department of Public Works & Highway in Central Pangasinan is now correcting the skewed alignment of the concrete drainage system that goes to the river but causes flood to this town.

“Kunektado iyon exit ng tubig. Tapos iyong sa BIR eventually e correct e alignment hindi nagpu - flow ang tubig,” District Engineer Simplicio D. Gonzalez told this writer after the latter inquired if the wrongly built kilometers sewerage system that reclined going to its egress in the river near the Ramos Bridge in the Jose de Venecia Highway has been fixed already.

A photo of a concrete made drainage system

Although it is yet to replace with a tilting culverts in a P13 million drainage system project to stop the flooding in the poblacion area of Calasiao, the culverts for the egress of water near the Banaoang Bridge have been buried and connected in March this year.

The drainage problem in the burgeoning town started in 2017 when the owner of a land where a creek is located at the highway back filled it to elevate his property. The back filling however impeded the flow of the drainage water that exit to the Banaoang River. 

Presently the D.E of the Pangasinan 4th District Engineering Office, that covers the towns of Calasiao, Mapandan, Malasiqui, Sta. Barbara, and Bayambang and the city of San Carlos, is preoccupied with the widening of bridges and constructions of roads and highways.

“No slope protection wala tayong mga bundok dito. Iyong slope protection iyan basta may ginagawang tulay may slope protection sa approaches. Kakaunti kasi wala tayong bundok sa slope protection wala tayong mga landslide dito,” he butted in when this newspaper asked him about protections on the river banks.

Gonzalez, whose term here will end on Year 2024, said these bridges being widened and constructed are in Barangays Pagal and Cacaritan in San Carlos City and Barangays Nansangaan and Tomling bridges in Malasiqui.

“Matatapos sila next year June tapos,” he added.

The province's 4th District Engineering Office has more or less P1 billion budge for its arrays of projects.

The Central Pangasinan district is under the watch of Congresswoman Rose Marie “Baby” Arenas.