Olongapo Starts Dredging Rivers
OLONGAPO CITY—The local government of Olongapo is set to start massive dredging operations on its rivers with the turn-over by SM Super Malls of a backhoe worth P2.4 million as donation to the city.
“I have tasked the engineering dept. to immediately start dredging Kalaklan River as a flood control measure,” Mayor Rolen Paulino said, “this may not be a permanent solution but will certainly help.”
Paulino acknowledged that the donation of SM is “a big help to the city’s effort to clear our river channels of debri and silt.”.
“We have four dump trucks lent by private entities being used in the operations of the city’s dredging machine at Banicain river and this backhoe from SM will boost our flood-control efforts” Paulino said.
He added that a study is now being conducted by the City Planning and Development Office to determine the cause of flooding and find a lasting solution to the problem.
Last August and September, the city suffered its worst flooding in years after the previous administration failed to desilt the long stretch of Kalaklan River that serves as the main water channel going out to Subic Bay.
Another desilting effort is being conducted in the Banicain River which started in August.
Paulino is also offering residents free filling materials from the dredging operations by simply coordinating with the city engineering dept.
City Engineer Ed Santos, however, said that before they give out filling materials, they will first inspect the area to be filled.
“It would be counter-productive to give out sand or filling materials from our desilting operation if it will simply return back to our rivers,” Santos said.
Zambales 1st district congressman Jeffrey Khonghun meanwhile said that he has already asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to conduct a separate dredging program along the upstream of Sta. Rita River and at the mouth of Kalaklan River.
Khonghun’s hometown of Subic also suffered massive flooding during the rainy season but he said that Olongapo was hit harder.
He added that a desilting program is also in the works in the municipality of Subic.