BACOLOD City – A drainage project aimed at mitigating floods in this city is “95-percent complete.”
The flood control project may be completed by middle of September, said City District Engineer Abraham Villareal of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The DPWH, which is building the drainage from corner Rizal-Lacson streets to Mandalagan Bridge, targets finishing the structure before the MassKara Festival in October.
The remaining 5 percent of the work involves the installation of inlets that will connect the pipes, Villareal said.
This, he stressed, will efficiently collect surface water when it rains and convey it toward the Mandalagan Bridge.
The completion time was projected to be November this year but Villareal said they were working to finish way ahead of schedule.
Residents blamed the ongoing drainage project for the flood that hit the city on Aug. 2.
But the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) said the project did not cause the flood.
Rainwater equivalent to about four days of rain poured over the city at the time, the CDRRMO said.
Garbage that collected in drainage systems also blocked the flow of water and worsened the flooding, the office added./PN
