MMDA, Manila LGU open floodgate to Manila Bay

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the Manila government on Wednesday opened a floodgate to Manila Bay to ease the flooding in nearby areas.

“Inimbitahan po tayo ngayong araw ni MMDA Chairman Atty. Don Artes sa pagbubukas ng floodgate at paglalagay ng trash trap sa Manila Yacht Club sa Roxas Boulevard upang maibsan ang pagbabaha at mga basurang inaanod papunta sa sewerage ng Maynila,” Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said in a statement.

(MMDA Chairman Atty. Don Artes invited us today to the opening of the floodgate and installation of a trash trap at the Manila Yacht Club on Roxas Boulevard to address the flooding and trash into the Manila sewerage.)

“Ito po ay inisyatibo ng MMDA kasama ang Pamahalaang Lungsod ng Maynila upang mabawasan ang pag-apaw ng tubig sa ating mga kanal tuwing umuulan na dulot ng mga basurang nanggagaling sa Dolomite Beach,” he added.

(This is an initiative of the MMDA together with the City Government of Manila to reduce the overflowing water in our drainage system during the rainy season caused by trash coming from the Dolomite Beach.)

More sewage treatment plants are needed to prevent flooding in Manila, according to a report by Dano Tingcungco on GTV’s Balitanghali.

For the meantime, the floodgate to Manila Bay will be opened on rainy days to avoid flooding in nearby Kalaw Avenue, Padre Faura Street, and Taft Avenue. 

The floodgate to Manila Bay had been closed due to a Supreme Court order to concerned agencies to ensure that the water that will be released to the body of water is clean.

A sewage treatment plant has been established in the area to clean the water before it flows to Manila Bay.

The MMDA is hoping that the funds of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be increased to create more sewage treatment plants in Manila Bay.

Meanwhile, the Manila government said it has approved a drainage master plan for the city. —Joviland Rita/AOL, GMA Integrated News