LUCENA CITY—Officials are reviving a campaign to bring life back to two rivers here that are all but dying after previous attempts to do so have died.
Ofelia Garcia, chief of the city planning and development office, said at the launch of the “Rivers Resuscitation Program” that hopes are high the new campaign would succeed because of an initial P1-million allotment for it.
“What we need is the sincere cooperation of the people, especially those living along the riverbanks,” she said.
The city is wedged between two rivers—Dumacaa to the east and Iyam to the west—that meet in the southern portion of the city and drain to Tayabas Bay. Seven other rivers and six creeks serve as natural drainage systems for the city.
Fishermen and local folk used to hang out in the two rivers that have since turned into dumps.
Citing recent studies by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and UP National Institute of Geological Sciences, Garcia said low-lying areas of Lucena would become flood-prone if the two rivers were not cleared of garbage, pollutants and natural debris from Mt. Banahaw.
Garcia appealed to residents to stop dumping garbage and human wastes into the rivers. Residents in the riverbanks have long been using the rivers as a big toilet, dump for their garbage and washing area for their clothes.
“We can’t help it. There is no public toilet in the neighborhood and the schedule of garbage trucks to pick up our trash is unpredictable,” said a riverbank resident in Barangay 5.
Several commercial piggeries and factories in the riverbanks have also contributed to pollution.
Illegal quarry operations in the two rivers have also become a cause of concern by the city government.
Residents along the banks of Dumacaa have long been complaining of illegal quarrying by construction company owned by a local Chinese businessman.
Deep holes, signs of quarry operations, are all over part of the river.
Most families residing in the riverbanks, however, depend on small-time sand quarrying for a living.