Revise city drainage plan, experts urge local officials

Cebu City’s technical experts called on local officials to revisit the drainage master plan in light of the recent spate of floodings that hit the city.

In yesterday’s public hearing held by the Cebu City Council, Dean Michael Espina of the University of San Carlos’s (USC) architecture department said the drainage plan should identify natural waterways where surface water could traverse on its way to the sea.

“The plan should also be able to delineate low-lying areas, which need special attention. Further, the plan should be able to lay out a proper drainage system to accept additional volumes of water from existing and new development,” he said.

Espina said a city ordinance that requires owners of buildings to put up water cisterns should also be expanded to include developers and even the barangays.
“New areas should be assessed before being issued permits for development,” he said.

Espina was one of 11 speakers who appeared before the council to discuss flooding problems in barangays Guadalupe and Tisa that were believed to be caused by the Monterrazas de Cebu development project.

Engineer Ting Agbisit, vice president for engineering and technical planning of Genvi Development Corp., presented to the council their drainage plans for Monterrazas de Cebu.

He mentioned about their temporary silt ponds, detention ponds, their erosion control plans and their plans to connect to the drainage systems of Grand Legacy and South Plain subdivisions to provide outlets to water coming from their development site.

“Even before we started with our site development, we already constructed temporary silt ponds, there there is no adequate drainage to receive rainwater,” he said.

Agbisit also clarified that mud and rocks that go with floodwater doesn’t necessarily come from their development site.

He said there are also vacant lots in the neighborhood that contribute to the darkish color of runoff water.

Tisa barangay councilor Eddie Cabulao said that his barangay is also a victim to massive flooding cased by Monterrazas de Cebu.

He said even before Genvi could start development of 78 hectares of the development project located in his barangays, at least eight areas in Tisa now floats in floodwater when it rains.

“We don’t oppose the development project.  All we are asking if for them to fix our drainage system,” Cabulao said.

Espina said new subdivision developments on the foothills of Cebu may contribute to the volume of water that flows downhill.

He said the bigger problem is the inability of the drainage system downhill to accommodate the added water volume.

Espina said the city government should provide drainage improvements especially if it issued the development permits for new subdivisions.

“It would be untenable to backtrack on these approvals when the developers have already invested mush in development funds,” he said.

Espina said the city’s “inadequate” drainage system cannot cope with the increased rainfall and, thus, officials need to provide a comprehensive drainage master plan.

He said flooding is an indication of “urban decay.”

“It may be just the tip of the iceberg, as there may be more serious urban problems that has to be addressed and addressed soon,” the school official said.