The completion of the installation of a high-grade flood water interceptor pipe along the Bolo creek here might do the trick to abate the flooding of the strawberry farms that has caused problems for more than 700 farmers in the area and other parts of the town proper.

Romulado Apalias, acting chief of the planning and design section of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Benguet First District Engineering Office, said in a report to the municipal government of this capital town that the laying of the pipe would be finished by Nov. 16.

The DPWH made the report in line with a Sept. 26 resolution of the Sangguniang Barangay of Betag that urged the DPWH to conduct a thorough technical assessment of the project design and structure to determine if the project’s current form is viable.

In a technical assessment report, the DPWH Benguet 1st District Engineering Office said “the project’s value lies in reducing the extent and severity of flood, lowering flood depth, and ponding and shortening the time when farms remain inundated.”

The PHP177-million project was one of the public works undertakings in Benguet that Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong inspected when he was still the adviser of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI), the body tasked by Malacañang to investigate anomalous flood control projects.

The Bolo creek traverses one side of the strawberry fields and conveys water to the Balili River, the main water outlet of the town.

The creek has become notorious for causing floods to the strawberry farms during the onslaught of typhoons Crising, Emong and Nando. But of late, farmers have complained that flooding occurs even during monsoon rains.

Due to the damage caused by flooding in the area, the fruit-bearing season for strawberries has been delayed to December or even the first quarter of next year. Previously, strawberry picking started in November, a highly sought-after experiential tourism activity in this capital town that gave farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) a good income.

The DPWH report said the intense and sustained rainfall in the last few months significantly increased the volume of floodwater, which overwhelmed the capacity of the creek, pushing the water into the strawberry farms that are lower than the creek.

The main component of the project now is the continuation of an “armored polyethylene corrugated drainage pipe with a structured wall that extends to 348 meters upstream,” the report said.

The pipe will serve as a siphoning device to allow the water to flow from a higher elevation so that floodwater can freely flow into the Balili River, the report further said.

The DPWH said it will also install a pump at the pipe inlet in case the creek’s peak water flow exceeds the river’s capacity.

“The pump will supplement hydraulic performance by adding energy to the flow, helping to overcome gravitational limitations and reduce fictional losses,” it said.

Barangay Betag hosts the 44-hectare strawberry farm, which is the town’s top tourist attraction.

Mayor Roderick Awingan, who was recently furnished a copy of the assessment, said the local government unit is looking forward to the project’s completion, which is expected to address the flooding not just at the strawberry farm but also in other parts of the capital town’s población or central area. (PNA)