CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Mines and GeoSciences Bureau (MGB) here has raised “critical concern” over the threat of the collapsing and overaged Arnedo dike that could combine with La Niña’s heavy rains to cut a wide swath of destruction in this province this rainy season.
For Gov. Lilia Pineda, the threat from Pampanga river has overtaken other disaster-related concerns in this province.
“It will take more than the entire yearly budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to actually repair the entire Arnedo diking system along the Pampanga river, but it still makes sense to rehabilitate some critical parts of it to lessen the threat,” said Pineda in a press briefing yesterday at the Clark Freeport .
Pineda said the situation faced by thousands of folk now facing threat of devastating flash floods from the Pampanga River could almost approximate the lahar threat from Mt. Pinatubo after its eruption in 1991.
“It’s not only because the dike is crumbling but this, in combination with the unusually heavy rains that scientists link to global warming, that really worries me,” she added.
“In those days, there was the question of evacuating entire towns amid lahar threat from the Pasig-Potrero river, but then, there were those who opted to build the anti-lahar megadike instead. Now we know the dike, despite its cost, saved not only lives, but even bigger investments in the saved communities,” Pineda noted.
The regional office of the MGB headed by geologist Orlando Pineda told Pampanga officials of the serious danger posed by the crumbling Arnedo dike which was built 53 year ago for a lifespan of 50 years.
He noted that the dike is supposed to guide the flow of waters from Nueva Ecija and Aurora through the Pampanga river down to the Manila Bay, away from escaping to populated areas of Arayat, Candaba, San Luis, San Simon, Sto. Tomas, MInalin, Apalit, and even parts of the capital City of San Fernando.
Some P77 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was supposed to be used for the repair of some portions of the dike, but this was ordered frozen by the new Aquino government pending reassessment of project priorities.
Pineda said that apart from rehabilitating the dike, engineers and affected folk along the Pampanga river have pushed for the dredging of the already silted original water channel of the Pampanga river. She asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to “work for the reprogramming of this old river-channel and come up with a more comprehensive design and master plan as soon as possible.”
Jose Datu, district engineer of the Pampanga First Engineering Office, disclosed that the DPWH has started the excavation of the said water channel few years back, but this was stopped amid lack of budget.
For Gov. Lilia Pineda, the threat from Pampanga river has overtaken other disaster-related concerns in this province.
“It will take more than the entire yearly budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to actually repair the entire Arnedo diking system along the Pampanga river, but it still makes sense to rehabilitate some critical parts of it to lessen the threat,” said Pineda in a press briefing yesterday at the Clark Freeport .
Pineda said the situation faced by thousands of folk now facing threat of devastating flash floods from the Pampanga River could almost approximate the lahar threat from Mt. Pinatubo after its eruption in 1991.
“It’s not only because the dike is crumbling but this, in combination with the unusually heavy rains that scientists link to global warming, that really worries me,” she added.
“In those days, there was the question of evacuating entire towns amid lahar threat from the Pasig-Potrero river, but then, there were those who opted to build the anti-lahar megadike instead. Now we know the dike, despite its cost, saved not only lives, but even bigger investments in the saved communities,” Pineda noted.
The regional office of the MGB headed by geologist Orlando Pineda told Pampanga officials of the serious danger posed by the crumbling Arnedo dike which was built 53 year ago for a lifespan of 50 years.
He noted that the dike is supposed to guide the flow of waters from Nueva Ecija and Aurora through the Pampanga river down to the Manila Bay, away from escaping to populated areas of Arayat, Candaba, San Luis, San Simon, Sto. Tomas, MInalin, Apalit, and even parts of the capital City of San Fernando.
Some P77 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was supposed to be used for the repair of some portions of the dike, but this was ordered frozen by the new Aquino government pending reassessment of project priorities.
Pineda said that apart from rehabilitating the dike, engineers and affected folk along the Pampanga river have pushed for the dredging of the already silted original water channel of the Pampanga river. She asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to “work for the reprogramming of this old river-channel and come up with a more comprehensive design and master plan as soon as possible.”
Jose Datu, district engineer of the Pampanga First Engineering Office, disclosed that the DPWH has started the excavation of the said water channel few years back, but this was stopped amid lack of budget.
