THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Monday that civil works have started on a major pumping station serving a flood-prone area of Valenzuela City.
The project is expected to boost the city’s resilience to climate change, the department said in a statement.
The station is being implemented by DPWH Metro Manila 3rd District Engineering Office and is “expected to address the city’s perennial flooding problem as well as of neighboring areas along Meycauayan River,” it added.
Once the P234-million project in Barangay Veinte Reales is completed, it will complement the current network of 17 pumping stations in Valenzuela City.
In the DPWH’s flood management master plan for the Greater Metro Manila area, the measures being pursued include a rainwater catchment system that will enable some communities to store rainwater for reuse.
In February, the DPWH regional office in Metro Manila said it was evaluating sites for catch basins to minimize flooding in the capital.
The World Bank estimates that the Philippines was visited by 94 destructive typhoons between 2011 and 2015, or 9.3% more than the number of such typhoons between 2006 and 2010.
It also noted that many areas in Metro Manila are low-lying and designated as flood prone, with insufficient protection against frequent inundation as natural drainage is often restricted during rainfall events by high river and sea water levels.
The World Bank provided technical and financial assistance for the department’s flood management master plan for Greater Metro Manila. — Arjay L. Balinbin
