The City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) uncovered some one thousand four hundred twenty four structures have encroached the prescribed creek easements in the different parts of the city as part of the city government’s ongoing campaign to remove the obstructions along waterways to allow the free flow of water and lessen water pollution in the said areas.
Engr. Stephen Capuyan, Assistant City Building Official, claimed that of the said number of structures that encroached the creek easements, 630 are found along the Sagudin-Balili river, 346 are along the Bued river, 290 are within the Asin Galiano river, 107 are in the Naguilian river and 57 are along the Ambalanga river.
He claimed that owners of the structures found to have encroached the 3-meter creek easement were already issued notices of violation by the CBAO and that a number of conferences were already conducted with them to inform them of the desire of the city government to clear waterways from obstructions that constrict the smooth flow of water tin the different river systems.
The deputy city building official stipulated that some of the owners of the structures that were identified to have encroached on the creek easement presented titles over their properties but what has been emphasized to them is the existence of the prescribed 3-meter creek easement which must be strictly observed to prevent obstructions on the smooth flow of water into the various river systems in the city.
According to him, the 3 teams from CBAO will continue to engage these owners to ensure their compliance to their previous agreements in past meetings and conferences to prevent further encroachments on the various river systems and creeks around the city.
Capuyan explained that people understand the purpose of removing the encroachments after they were informed and they are willing to remove their structures that have encroached the different river systems in the city to allow the smooth flow of water and avoid the further contamination of water.
The CBAO official stipulated that one of the violations on the creek easement requirement is the direct connection of their septic tanks to the creeks and rivers which has a significant impact on the quality of water along the waterways, thus, owners of the properties had been required to correct these to avoid the imposition of fines and penalties against them based on existing law, rules and regulations.
Capuyan expressed his gratitude to the property owners for their utmost cooperation and understanding on the efforts of the city government to bring back the prescribed 3-meter creek easement on both sides of the various waterways because such initiative is for the overall welfare of the public.
Capuyan is optimistic that with the city government’s aggressive campaign against encroachments on creeks and waterways, these will be minimized to avoid unnecessary obstructions to the smooth flow of water in the various waterways around the city.
