THE CITY Ancillary Services Unit (ASU) and the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) have started the preparatory procedures for rehabilitating drainages along the city’s flood-prone areas.
ASU head Paul Bermejo, in an interview with the media on Monday, said teams were deployed to assess the level of functionality of the reinforced concrete cylinder pipes (RCCP) in drainages. They will also gauge the amount of work and determine the type of equipment needed to desilt them.
“Karong buntag (June 26) magdala na og rodding equipment ang drainage team, unya pag-open nila sa manhole naa pud ang team sa City Engineer’s Office para mag-inventory sa mga RCCP o kadtong mga imbornal didto sa sulod kung pila na lang gyud ka percent ang nabilin (This morning, the drainage team will bring rodding equipment, then when they open the manhole, the team from the city Engineer’s Office will also be there to take inventory of the RCCPs or those sewers inside to see how much water can still flow through),” Bermejo said.
The teams will also inventory the existing RCCPs to determine whether these are still compatible with the new waterways developed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The ASU will conduct the rodding assessment of drainages by batches of five areas until all frequently-flooded areas are assessed.
Three teams from ASU have been deployed, two of which will be operating during the day and one at night.
Though no timeline has been given, Bermejo vowed the offices are determined to desilt the waterways as soon as possible.
“Urgent and important na siya tungod sa pag-ulan-ulan karon. Among gina-ensure nga ang Ancillary Services Unit, ang City Engiineer’s Office, og ang DPWH naga-collaborate permi sa pag-adress ani nga problema (This is urgent and important because of the rainy weather. We are making sure that the Ancillary Services Unit, City Engiineer’s Office, and the DPWH are always collaborating to address this problem),” he said.
Bermejo said the ASU and the CEO are working non-stop to clean the drainages of debris.
He asked the public to do their part by properly disposing of their garbage and abiding by the city’s Solid Waste Management Ordinance.
“So ang akoang hangyo lang pud na unta mutabang ta sa city government sa pag-address ani nga problema pinaagi sa pagplastar sa atong mga basura so tumanon lang nato ang Solid Waste Management Act and kanang mga good practices kay aron dili maadto sa canal and eventually didto sa sapa og ddagat ang atoang mga basura. (So my only request is that we help the city government to address this problem by disposing our garbage properly and we just follow the Solid Waste Management Act and those good practices to prevent our garabges from ending up in the canal and eventually in the river and the sea),” Bermejo said.
