Dredging of the shallow rivers in Dagupan will take more than one year using three dredging machines loaned to the city by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
City Engineer Virginia Rosario, in a press conference called Monday night by Mayor Belen Fernandez, said more than 250,000 cubic meters of silt are set to be recovered from the all-out dredging operations when the three-dredging machines will be working simultaneously.
She said the silt that will be recovered will be deposited in private lots from where the barangay captains can source out their filling materials for areas in their villages that are prone to flooding. The dredging project will probably commence during this week.
The rivers will be dredged from three to six meters deep so it is easier for flood waters to flow downward to the Lingayen Gulf during the rainy season.
Rosario said that first to be dredged is the shallow Calmay River where a mass of land has now developed in its mid section, before the dredging machines will be shifted to the river mouth separating sitio Sabangan in Bonuan Gueset to Barangay Pugaro.
After that, the Pantal River which is connected to the Sinucalan River in Calasiao and Sta. Barbara towns will be next to be dredged.
City Engineer Rosario said that the DPWH will also help the city dredge 18 separate creeks that are now also very shallow.
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Press Release, May 6, 2014