Aging flood pumps get P1.6-B upgrade

Water pumping stations designed to prevent floods in the metropolis are getting a much-needed upgrade after their age and state of disrepair were brought to light by last month’s calamity.

President Benigno Aquino III and Cabinet officials have approved an additional P1.6 billion to fund the upgrade of pumps operated by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), officials disclosed Wednesday.

The National Economic Development Authority (Neda) Board also approved a

P270-million fund for the dredging of water systems maintained by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

“Our pumping stations have been so many years old,” Secretary Edwin Lacierda, presidential spokesperson, said in a Malacañang briefing. “I think that’s important for us when it comes to flooding in the Metro Manila area where we need the pumping stations to work, and certainly this is a necessary step in ensuring that we address the flood situation in Metro Manila.”

Floods triggered by nonstop monsoon rains on Aug. 7 left wide swaths of destruction in the capital and in central and southern Luzon.

The floods were also blamed on the low water discharge by the aging pumping stations, clogged waterways and the denudation of the Sierra Madre mountain range.

In the aftermath of the deluge, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano took MMDA officials to task for their supposed failure to approve requests to procure fuel for three pumps in Taguig City, where several barangays quickly went underwater when the pumps went idle.

The MMDA operates a total of 49 pumping stations of varying capacities, some of which are almost four decades old.

The pump upgrade and dredging were on top of the approved P5-billion initial allocation for the P351-billion master plan for flood control management in the capital, one of the nine key infrastructure projects green lighted by the

Neda Board.

The Metro Manila projects are broken down as follows:

Valenzuela-Obando Meycauayan Project: P830 million; Camanava Project, Phase I (Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas Area): P800 million; Manila Bay Seawall and Floodgates: P765 million; Upper Marikina Improvement Project: P370 million; West Side of Mangahan Floodway Project: P262.40; East Side of Mangahan Floodway Project: P193.37 million; Declogging of Drainage Main: P43.33 million; Mandaluyong and San Juan River: P62.50 million.