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Monday, December 08, 2003
San Carlos City, a world model
* Flood-control program of City Gov't a model program
WHAT the City Government of San Carlos did to ease the city of its flooding problem has been made an example to various countries in the world.
This was learned from City Administrator Arturo Mandapat who said this happened when Mayor Julian Resuello, along with 10 other city mayors in the Philippines, was recently invited by the government of Russia to their country.
"When they asked on the problem of flooding in their respective areas because even the European countries, especially France where flood continues, Mayor Resuello told what we have been doing," he said. The mayors were also invited by the World Bank.
The flood-control program being undertaken in San Carlos "has been made model of the different continents in the world," said Mandapat who is also the concurrent city treasurer.
City Planning and Development Officer Virgilio Ramos said the City Government would continue the various development projects, including the excavation and dredging waterways in the city and the construction and rehabilitation of drainage canals by next year.
Earlier, Resuello said before he became mayor of San Carlos, he learned that there are about 150 kilometers of creeks and rivers crisscrossing the city.
He said the waterways were either heavily silted or dead, they were hardly traceable, and those existing ones were shallow or narrow.
"Worse was the encroachment in these waterways. The people built their houses at the banks or on them, hindering the flow of water," he said, adding that the city was worst hit by flood in 1995.
Resuello said the flooding then San Carlos was that part of the floodwater of the towns of Calasiao and Sta. Barbara and 80 percent of the water from Malasiqui and Bayambang passed through the city.
"So with a P23-million city fund, the City Government bought heavy equipment and excavated all the rivers and creeks in the city. We even revive the dead waterways," he said.
But he admitted that although the city, through the waterways, can contain the floodwater, the recession of the water is yet slow that after five or six days of intermittent rains, the city gets flooded.
He said this is because the outlet of the water is narrow and shallow and the rivers in which the city river is connected to downstream are heavily silted.
Resuello proposed that the rivers in Lingayen and Binmaley that are connected to the Taroy River that flows down to Calasiao and then to Dagupan should be dredged.
He also advised the dredging of all rivers and creeks in Dagupan City, especially Pantal River down to the mouth of the river at the Lingayen Gulf because, he said, almost all the floodwaters in the province flows down to Dagupan.
"If this is done, we will no longer have serious problem on floods," he said.
Ramos said the drainage system at the city proper has already been almost completed so the city would no longer experience great floods.
(December 8, 2003 issue)
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