THE UNIVERSITY’S stormwater drainage system is set to be completed by early 2021, UST Facilities Management Office (FMO) Director Fr. Dexter Austria, O.P. told the Varsitarian.

Austria earlier posted on social media that the four-meter-deep water drainage system was 75 percent completed. 

The FMO director said the new flood drainage system would be a “game-changer” for UST, saying he was “hopeful” it would make the flood-prone España campus flood-free.

“We are hoping for a flood-free campus… This project intends to pump out and drain internal flood waters of UST,” Austria said.

“Ang ginagawa ng UST is to prevent the flood water [from staying] in UST. [‘Yung situation na] España is already dry and UST is still flooded, ‘yun ang iniiwasan natin,” he added.

The drainage system was designed to function as a water tank to temporarily detain stormwater, which will be released to the main sewer of España Boulevard. 

Austria said the University might still experience flooding but only if areas surrounding the campus were submerged as well.

The drainage construction did not meet the 15-month timeframe because unexpected problems like typhoons and the pandemic arose during construction, Austria said.

RELATED: Construction of new UST flood drainage system set to begin

The project began in November 2018.

“We are in a pandemic [and] every time there is a typhoon or rain, we don’t have a choice but to pack up kasi napupuno ng water ‘yong drainage and we cannot do any construction sa ilalim not just because there is water but also for safety purposes,” Austria explained.

Austria said financial and engineering problems also surfaced during the construction period. with reports from Joanne Christine Ramos

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