Zero flooding?

I desperately want to believe the DPWH that Metro Manila will be totally flood-free by 2030, even in the heaviest downpour. The DPWH official insists it’s “doable… no more flood and no more ugly road. All will be good.”

Indeed, some roads that used to flood after even the slightest rain no longer do, and if they do flood in a heavy downpour, the waters recede quickly and the roads are passable soon enough (Taft Ave./P. Burgos/National Museum is one such area). The DPWH engineer noted that drainage systems in the metro are old and need repair, so I hope they are attending to this with urgency.

But it’s not all up to DPWH. He mentioned irresponsible people who throw trash on the street that end up in the drains, clogging these. This is evident when you see areas around drains that are flooded when the rest of the road is not (one side of Ayala Blvd. just before Taft Ave. in front of PNU is like that). So please, let’s do our part to keep our streets from flooding.

Local governments should also be very, very strict with construction sites, especially malls and buildings. Very often, cement and other construction debris end up on sidewalks and streets and into the drainage. This is what happened in the horrendous flooding of Bicutan/SLEX last week. The mall responsible must be made to rectify their negligence – immediately and of course at their expense.

DPWH is doing its best to give us in the metro zero flooding; let’s all help them make it a reality, hopefully even sooner than 2030. – Mike Castro, Sampaloc, Manila