On Floods and Rivers

Photo courtesy of news.bbc.co.uk

Here in the Philippines, it is not unusual to see flooded streets. Well, it would be rare to see floods in cities like Puerto Prinsesa or in Subic but elsewhere, flooding is a grave problem. Like in our community (Barangay Sta. Ines), for the past two weeks, we have always been underwater. Although the flood waters would recede sometime in the afternoon but what is quite unusual is that the flood is now knee-deep. When I was a kid, floods would usually be no higher than a adult's legs. And also, it had never came into our house. Yet for the past 2 years, our living room would sometimes be flooded too.

There was this incident last year wherein we just woke up to find our house underwater. My bag was soaking wet (because I have placed it on the floor), our ancient and primitive computer (which luckily survived the flood) and all of our shoes. It was really a mess and it was the first time that floods came into our house. Well, we were not the only ones who suffered the same fate. Everyone in our community was not spared.

Well, our community is surrounded by a river so it is not surprising that during high tides we would expect floods. But what would further aggravate the problem are the following: releasing of water from the different dams in Bulacan, one in Angat and Bustos, a typhoon that has a lot of rain to bring and the very inefficient flood control projects the provincial government is doing.

Let me talk about the so-called 'flood-control projects.' Why so-called? Because instead of 'controlling' or mitigating the effects of the floods. It had made them even worse.

Obando is one of the municipalities in Bulacan that is always underwater. And there is this road that connects it to our town (Bulakan, not to be confused with the province of Bulacan) which never runs out of water. So to solve the problem, they've decided to build a road that would be higher that the previous one. A great solution indeed especially for the commuters and public utility jeeps that ply the route. But the solution created another problem.

Where would you expect the flood waters to go now that it is blocked by a road? Exactly, to other low lying areas such as our town. Soon, it is now our roads that are flooded. And they have another 'innovative' solution for that. They have also built a road that is higher that the previous one. And so, another problem was created again. The water goes further down to low lying communities such as ours. And I think, this is the 'flood control' solution that our provincial government is doing in other areas. Well, isn't it a sign of inefficiency? We can't just blame it on global warming or climate change. Because, we can do something. No, we can do a lot.

One is the strict implementation of the law against the dumping of garbage on the river. I guess they're starting it but they are not CONTINUALLY doing it. Just like the case of our national gov't. Two, a ban on the further reclamation of the river banks. This may sound new to others but here, it is no secret that some establishments or houses further extend their lots to the river. So the natural flow of the river is blocked and surely the water will rise further worsening the flood problem. Three, start the long overdue dredging of the river systems. It is a temporary solution but it can help a lot in mitigating the flood problem. And so that people would further appreciate the importance of our rivers, try to put up a route for ferries to ply along the river. It is also one great way to promote tourism, decongest traffic and to bring back life to our rivers.

I regret that when I was I kid, I didn't have the chance to swim in a river. It was kinda disheartening to hear stories not-so-long-ago of my parents or older relatives swimming in the river and catching some fish. But I was still lucky to experience riding a boat across the river. It only happened once. And I really treasure it. Still, I'm hoping that in the near future, we can eventually swim again in our rivers.