Pangasinan gov pushes for river dredging to ease flooding
CALASIAO, PANGASINAN—The provincial government of Pangasinan is pushing for the dredging of major rivers, most of which have become heavily silted, to reduce or eliminate the province’s seasonal struggles with widespread flooding, Gov. Ramon Guico III said.
Guico, in a telephone interview on Wednesday, stressed the need for well-planned and high-quality river protection and infrastructure projects and “not a piecemeal approach,” to ensure a long-term solution to the flooding.
“There must be a study of all major rivers and tributaries in Pangasinan to determine the flow of water,” he added. “Government agencies, such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Public Works and Highways, should conduct these studies so that a feasible river restoration project can be implemented.”
The provincial government has started dredging the Limahong Channel in the capital town of Lingayen, one of the deltas of the Agno River. The other delta is located in Labrador town.
Guico said the project had been contracted out to a private company at no cost to the provincial government, with the company retaining ownership of the materials dredged from the river. This arrangement was reached because the provincial government has no funds for dredging northward, he added.
However, Guico said the effects of the project had yet to be felt because the contractor has only recently begun removing silt from the mouth of the channel. Initial work was focused on the entrance of Limahong so dredging equipment could enter the channel.
Guico also dismissed reports claiming that solar farms established in the mountainous areas of Pangasinan had contributed to the province’s massive flooding.
He said the areas where the solar farms were put up had already lost much of their vegetation even before the projects began. While reforestation efforts have been undertaken, he said some of the newly planted trees have been destroyed by fires.
Coordination
Guico said the provincial government is coordinating with Dagupan City officials on the possibility of dredging the Sabangan River, the delta of the Sinocalan-Marusay-Pantal River system that is located between Dagupan and Binmaley town and which leads toward the Lingayen Gulf.
Guico also pointed out the need to clear the waterways of fish pens which block the flow of water during monsoon season.
“If Sabangan is heavily silted, floodwater will be trapped in the river system because it cannot freely flow toward the Lingayen Gulf,” he said.
The provincial government is likewise preparing to undertake the dredging of the Nayum River, a natural waterway that marks the geographic boundary between Infanta town in Pangasinan and Santa Cruz town in Zambales.
As of Thursday, communities in at least 15 towns and two cities were still flooded, according to the Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).
Several national roads in Mangatarem and Calasiao towns and Dagupan City are still not passable to light vehicles, said Pia Navata Flores, PDRRMO spokesperson.
The other towns with flooded communities for weeks now are Agno, Mabini, Aguilar, Binmaley, Bugallon, Lingayen, Malasiqui, Sta. Barbara, San Jacinto and Basista, as well as San Carlos City.
Basista was the latest to confront floods because of the swelling of the Camiling River.
