Work to do this dry spell

In the last quarter of 2018, PAGASA forecast a weak El Niño to hit our country in the first half of 2019. My senior moments notwithstanding, I even recalled a weatherman explaining that if it would occur, would not mean a prolonged drought. There would be no foreseen long dry spell even if we only had two tropical disturbances since January. We were informed, though, to expect that the rainwater within the corresponding period as last year’s, would be lower than what we usually get. True to the forecast, we now experience this kind of weather, although I feel that the humidity is more intense than previously indicated.

There are obvious effects of El Niño which forecasters earlier warned us about. They told us to expect the rapid drying of our otherwise waterlogged and other agricultural land. When our farmers complain their crops are withering, we simply validate the earlier warning. The heat literally burned the eggplants that I nurtured in my garden in a mountain barangay. More relevantly, according to weather specialists, the percentage of water evaporation is higher compared to normal. This possibly explains why we are seeing the drastic reduction in the volume of water running in our city’s natural waterways.

After the weather forecast, I remember expressing in this column a germ of an idea. I then said that the best time to prepare for flashfloods which Cebu City and Mandaue City (of recent years) suffer is during the dry season. Was I speaking in paradox? No, I was just being realistic and practical. Specifically, I talked about dredging our rivers and esteros. I hate to dwell on the harsh effects of this hot climate. So, let us consider the positive side. Because of the resulting scarcity of water, some parts of the city’s riverbeds are surfacing. We have been complaining that after a short heavy downpour, our streets get flooded. Now, El Niño has given us the chance to know why. Our riverbeds are heavily silted. Together with alluvial deposits, we see all kinds of environmentally injurious substances, too many to enumerate. These would not be seen if water were in heavy volume.

We are thus given this opportunity to remove debris from our rivers and restore them to their original depths. In this dry season, we should take measures that prepare us for the rainy days. The undertaking is gargantuan but if we imagine that the consequences of our inaction are more burdensome, we feel the work to be much lighter. That is what is happening. Work is being undertaken. We should all be thankful that our city environment office has taken advantage of this otherwise depressing situation. It is embarking on the huge task of clearing our waterways. I felt ecstatic to learn that ordinary citizens have taken time to join these efforts. People have plunged to dirty work if only to achieve a safe and clean environment. So far, this office and concerned individuals have begun clearing two of the city’s major rivers. Tons of refuse which have covered the riverbeds for eons have been removed. There must still be alluvium to be dredged, to be sure, but I foresee that in doing these works during a dry spell, no matter little the effort is, we may, in the foreseeable future, live in a city that is less threatened by flashfloods.