DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark A. Villar announced that a newly built flood control structure has reduced the extent, level and duration of flooding in low-lying areas at the boundary of Bulacan and Pampanga.
Emil K. Sadain, DPWH Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO), said that the completed Frances Sluice Gate has helped regulate the stream of water of the Pampanga River and prevent the backflow towards communities in Barangay Sulipan in Apalit, Pampanga and San Miguel, Calumpit, Bulacan.
The flood control structure with 12 gates is just one of the disaster resiliency infrastructure projects under the Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (IDRR-CCA) Measures in the Low Lying Areas of Pampanga Bay funded by a loan agreement between the Philippine government and Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund.
The project was implemented by the DPWH UPMO Flood Control Management Cluster (UPMO FCMC) to address the flooding problem especially during the rainy season, according to Sadain.
Sadain together with UPMO FCMC project director Ramon Arriola III and project manager Isabelita Manalo conducted an occular inspection on Friday at the project area of Calumpit, Bulacan towards Macabebe and Masantol, Pampanga which have been prone to floods.
The IDRR-CCA project with overall civil work progress of 54 percent also involves the construction/replacement of seven other sluice gates including the on-going Sapang Maragul Floodgate in Masantol and the construction/replacement of Sapang Maragul and Saplad David Bridges.
Improvement of river channel networks are also being done to increase waterways capacity through excavation and dredging at the mouth of the Pampanga River, specifically at the 5.5-kilometer stretch of Third River and the 4.6-kilometer stretch of Third River Upstream.
DPWH is also working to improve the flow and efficiency of the 11.40-kilometer Caduang Tete River and the 11.30-kilometer Sapang Maragul River.