Odiongan

Tumatabu-Ba River is the biggest and widest waterway in the municipality, located at the southwestern part of the Odiongan’s downtown area.

The river serves as the outfall of various creeks and streams, which is why it is prone to flooding during heavy rainfall. During heavy rains, floodwaters rise from a range of 1 to 3 meters in the most vulnerable areas.

Tumatabu-Ba is the target of the Odiongan’s Tourism and Agriculture Council’s Agri-Tourism Area, envisioned to serve as one of the municipality’s main tourist attraction due to its beauty and rich biodiversity. This will boost the economy and create job opportunities for the community.

Based on the municipality’s Climate Change and Disaster Risk Assessment, Barangays Budiong, Bangon and Tulay along the stretch of Tumatabu-Ba River are highly susceptible to flooding.

The Department of Public Works and Highways has already started building up flood mitigating structures within the stretch of the river, prioritizing sections that are most vulnerable to flooding and riverbank soil erosion.

For the Green-Gray Infrastructure project target area of 2 kilometers, 400 meters is already completed, and an additional 300 meters of river control is ongoing.

With the river control project, a public easement/setback from the river has been established and possible encroachment is being prevented.

The Green-Gray Infrastructure project intends to enhance the original river control esplanade of the LGU through an embankment utilizing the dredged material. This will help stabilize the structure that will also be developed into an elevated walkway/esplanade connecting Budiong Road to the Regional Highway 308.

The embankment will incorporate vegetation along its edges to provide anti-erosion measures. A mangrove area adjacent to the river and Budiong Road is planned to be enriched for further flood protection.

Improving Tumatabu-Ba River using green-gray infrastructure may unlock multiple benefits including:

• Reduce the impact of inland flooding

• Restore the riverine ecosystems and biodiversity

• Increase the municipality’s public space

• Increase tourism revenue

• Encourage the reforestation of the uplands

Ultimately, the pilot can make a case for the municipality wide adoption of nature-based strategies to:

• Make the city inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

• Conserve Odiongan’s river network and riverine ecosystems