Leaking water line damages dike in Pampanga

DAMAGED DIKE. A leaking water line saturated an anti-flooding dike in Barangay Sta. Cruz, San Simon town in Pampanga, causing the structure to crumble n leaving 2,000 residents waterless. PHOTO BY TONETTE T. OREJAS

SAN SIMON, PAMPANGA – A leaking water distribution line caused the dike above it to sag on Tuesday (June 19), according to a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official.

At least 94 meters of the 300-meter dike in Barangay (village) Sta. Cruz collapsed because of heavy water saturation, said Engr. Isabelita Manalo, project manager of the DPWH Unified Project Management Office-Flood Control Management Cluster.

The dike’s earth-filling sank while the slope protection leaned toward the Pampanga River, which drains the tributaries of Central Luzon towards Manila Bay.

The P150-million dike project had been 95-percent complete before the damage, Manalo said.

Sta. Cruz Barangay Chair Eddie Manalang said a portion of the dike crumbled between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., judging from the loud sounds he heard at the time.

Manalang said more than 2,000 residents in the village do not have tap water as the operator, Balibago Waterworks, closed the valve of the main line so it could be relocated.

The dike’s contractor, Ferdstar, is spending for the repairs, and had been directed by Manalo to extract and replace the steel sheet piles.