NEW JERSEY — One of Dumaguete’s main attractions is the Rizal Boulevard with numerous establishments that owe their ambience to the stunning view of the ocean.
I am sad to learn that this is about to change.
I saw the new reclamation project by the Press Club building for the first time in August this year. It appears that the ocean view from several establishments along the Boulevard will be replaced by a view of volleyball courts.
As I stood by the edge of the reclaimed area, I couldn’t help but notice how the air stank of sewage, attributed to a nearby sewer outfall.
From what I understand, the reclamation project will not extend northward beyond Bethel House. The result of the reclamation project will leave a gap between the previously reclaimed pier area in Looc to the north, and the new reclaimed area to the south.
While that appears to be good for the restaurants and other establishments that would retain their ocean view, I have other concerns. Following is my understanding of the coastal processes in Dumaguete:
I understand that oceanographers, marine biologists, environmentalists, and educators had earlier this year expressed their concern regarding how man-made structures affect coastal currents and cause beach erosion, and that the boulevard area might similarly be affected.
As a geologist, I am familiar with coastal processes from past years of snorkeling and scuba diving with my marine biologist-father, from observation of longshore drift and deeper currents, notes on scouring and accretion, and from a recent review of Google Earth satellite photos which illustrate cases of coastal erosion along the shorelines of Negros Island.
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The coastline along Rizal Boulevard is already deprived of precious sand coming from the north because of the major PPA reclamation in Looc. Migrating sands have been trapped along the north side of the pier reclamation area, where a sandy beach has developed. (The predominant longshore drift along Dumaguete’s coastline is from north to south, carrying with it sand particles that produce or maintain beaches.)
Before this new reclamation at the Press Club area, a secondary (less predominant) longshore drift was from south to north (e.g., during the Habagat monsoon) and the sandy sediments from the mouth of Banica River were carried northward and deposited in front of the seawall along Rizal Boulevard.
Because of the new reclamation project, the sands from Banica River are no longer able to move northward. The seawall and the seabed in front of the Boulevard establishments would be subject to undermining, scouring, and erosion by storm waves, with very little or no replenishment of lost sand.
I do appreciate watching beach volleyball games, but as for volleyball courts blocking the ocean view of several tourist establishments along the Boulevard, I personally think the mere idea is deplorable.
I believe that if the City government had looked hard enough, it could have found other alternative locations for beach volleyball courts. I can only imagine the extremely high cost of maintenance and repair of volleyball facilities after a few years of battering by the waves and typhoons — considering that world oceans, including the Philippines’ marine waters, are rising, and storms are getting more intense.
I believe that the quintessential Rizal Boulevard, and the ocean in front of it do not deserve to be covered by such reclamation project.
Voicing my concerns at this time may probably be a tad too late, but it would have been prudent for the City government to have done a study of the coastal processes in the area prior to thinking of the project.
I recommend that the section of the seawall that will not be covered by reclamation be fortified by riprap (and maybe with imported sand for aesthetic purposes).
Additionally, priority should be given to the mitigation of sewage discharge along the coastline. A worst-case scenario would be the smell of sewage permeating the air along the Boulevard, and overgrowth of blue-green algae along the shoreline and sea bed.
Other ideas to preserve the Rizal Boulevard area would be most welcome.
Moses Alcala
[email protected]
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