Navotas pumping stations ready for floods

Pumping stations in Navotas City which were damaged during last month’s torrential monsoon rains are now back in service, according to the city government which also announced its plan to add more defenses to further prevent flooding in coastal communities.

Navotas Mayor John Rey Tiangco said that the pumping stations in Barangays (villages) Bangkulasi and North Bay Boulevard South have been repaired.

“We are now doing constant preventive maintenance for all our 22 pumping stations,” he told the Inquirer in a recent interview.

Tiangco explained that the breakdown of the two pumping stations, coupled with damaged river dikes, led to last month’s floods at the height of heavy rains.

“We could have avoided much of the flooding if the pumping stations were working. But because they were not at the time, there was too much water for the other pumping stations to cope with, especially as the river walls were breached too,” he said.

Meanwhile, work is still underway to rehabilitate the damaged river walls along Barangays Bangkulasi and Bagumbayan South.

“These were the ones which were really damaged seriously. We have piled up sandbags in the breached areas temporarily,” Tiangco said.

He added that city government was planning to add six more pumping stations to deal with floods.

“We already have funds for it. The first station which will become operational is in Tangos. Construction is nearly finished there,” he said.

The city government is also coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways for the construction of a seawall fronting Manila Bay.

The seawall, when finished, will cover Barangays Daanghari, San Jose, San Roque, Tangos, and Tanza and will protect the area from storm surges and the high tide.