CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) District Engineer William Bustos on Monday, May 15, said that it would be more practical to relocate residents living near the Arnedo Dike as it would be costly to rehabilitate the old dike system.
The statement came as some residents have been reported to have asked the DPWH for intervention after a huge breach was seen in the portion of Arnedo Dike in Barangay Cansinala.
Bustos said that the current state of the Arnedo Dike and the volume of water from the Pampanga River would only result in the same problem. He added that the Arnedo Dike would need P500,000 for every linear meter of rehabilitation.
Bustos said that concerned residents should address concerns for relocation to their local governments.
The Arnedo Dike is supported by the younger Arayat-Apalit Setback Levee which has rendered the purpose of the Arnedo Dike somewhat obsolete.
In 2016, Governor Lilia Pineda urged thousands of families and villagers living along the stretch of the Arnedo Dike to relocate to permanent resettlement sites.
Governor Pineda said that relocation would pave the way for possible construction works on the dike and secure the safety of families living along the dike.
The 74-year-old Arnedo Dike is situated along the five towns of Arayat, Apalit, Candaba, San Simon, and San Luis. It was built in the 1940s to serve as the first line of flood defense against Pampanga River.
Thousands of residential structures, however, were built above and along the flood defense, which weakened the Arnedo dike.
The same call goes to residents along the Arayat-Apalit Setback Levee.
The Arayat-Apalit Setback Levee serves as the first and second line of defense from the cascading floodwater from the Pampanga River especially during rainy season.
The DPWH issued a statement in 2016 that with the existence of the Arayat-Apalit Setback Levee as second line of defense, "our attention is more on the protection of the levee and not on the Arnedo Dike."
DPWH bared that the 66-year-old, 36-kilometer Arnedo Dike, now known as “Pampanga River Bank,” needs at least P20-billion for the full reconstruction and rehabilitation of the whole structure from Arayat to Apalit towns.
Also in 2016, Governor Pineda urged the National Housing Authority to study and plan a holistic approach on how to relocate the more than 35,000 families living along the stretch of the Pampanga River.
