THE LOCAL government of Dagupan, a low-lying coastal city, is setting up temporary floodgates to protect the business district and other flood-prone areas during high tide while long-term solutions are being planned. In a meeting last week, Mayor Brian C. Lim asked the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) and the City Planning and Development Office to immediately implement available engineering solutions to address the longstanding flooding problem. In a statement from the city’s information office, City Engineer Virginia Rosario said she proposed a 30-day work plan that includes the installation of temporary floodgates that would be closed during high tide events and the deployment of teams to clean the city’s creeks and drainage canals. “We will also implement a food-for-work scheme to involve barangay residents in cleaning the creeks and drainage canals in their areas,” Ms. Rosario said. The mayor earlier said a comprehensive drainage audit would be conducted as an initial step for planning long-term solutions. “We will take a closer look at our drainages — the old and new ones — if they are still structurally sound, if they are connected and if they do work. This was part of what they have done in Navotas City,” said Mr. Lim following a recent visit to the city. Dagupan has an average elevation of one meter above sea level and has 14 creeks and seven rivers that flow out into the Lingayen Gulf.

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