metro

Flooding plan in the works

MOP officials will start cleaning storm drains more frequently to prevent them from backing up.

Officials say that garbage, construction debris and grease are the biggest problems.

Noriel Gutiérrez/LA PRENSA

under water:The government is looking at ways to prevent a repeat of Wednesday’s severe flooding, which left motorists stranded and many of the city’s streets impassable. Officials blamed the problem on debris that has accumulated in storm drains. 1060759

Wednesday's flooding in many areas of Panama City, from San Miguelito to Clayton, have officials scrambling to clean out municipal storm drains.

Officials said the storm drains are clogged with trash, material from construction sites and grease from restaurants, among other things.

This mixture blocked many drains around the city, forcing the rainwater into the streets, where it snarled traffic and damaged property.

“The precipitation Wednesday was more than 100 millimeters, thus the drainage pipes were loaded,” said Reinaldo Sánchez, director of Metrovial del Ministerio de Obras Públicas (MOP).

He said the problem could have been worse, had the storm occurred during high tide.

Sánchez said that the MOP recently cleaned out the city's storm drains, but an inspection yesterday showed that many are blocked once again.

According to an MOP statement, officials removed automotive oil, cardboard and other trash from one drain.

To avoid future problems, the MOP plans to clean the drains more often, and some will be swept clean as often as once every eight days.

José Carías, director of the Alcantarillados del Instituto de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales (Idaan), said that the agency has also increased the frequency of cleaning sewage pipes. The pipes used to be cleaned once a year. now they will be cleaned every two months.

In some instances, the sewage pipes and the storm water drains are one in the same. A project underway to prevent raw sewage from entering the Bahía de Panama will separate some of them.

Magda Bernard, president of the Sociedad Panameña de Ingenieros y Arquitectos, said that authorities are not taking into account the increased demands on the city's infrastructure as a result of the large amount of new construction.

Bernard added that while the project to upgrade the sewage system will provide some relief, it will not completely address the flooding problem.