CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The Naga-Toledo Road Project is approximately 34km in length and this study is a
continuation of Section 1 of the project. Sections 2 to 4 of the Naga-Toledo Road
Project begin at Sta. 17+280.000 (Junction Lutopan) and ends at Sta. 34+440.000 in
Toledo City Hall. Section 2 (Sta. 17+280.000 to 20+504.000) is a short segment of the
project road, which is badly damaged due to the slow but progressive landslide
movements in that area. Sections 3 and 4 however, are described as having relatively
no major damages to the roadway. This project traverses an existing road, which was
constructed in the early 1980’s. However at present, the road is highly deteriorated due
to several factors including occurrences of natural phenomenon like landslides and
typhoons. The road drainage structures in several sections are no longer efficient and
are nonfunctional. Therefore a major rehabilitation work is necessary in order to
improve the condition of the road including its related structures and to provide the
public comfort and safe road facilities.

1.1 OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF WORK

This report presents the Hydrology and Drainage study aspects undertaken for the
Detailed Engineering Design of the Naga-Toledo Road Project (Section 2: Jct. Lutopan
to Section 4: Toledo City Hall). The purpose of the study is basically to provide the
necessary inputs required in the design and evaluation of drainage structures
throughout the road stretch. The study is carried out with careful analysis of all
available data, including rainfall and flood records, supplemented with field inspections
with the intent of:

 determining rainfall distribution and characteristics in the project area.

 determining the peak flow rates for the design flood frequency.
 assessment of the existing cross drainage facilities.
 design of drainage structures along major and minor waterways.

1.2 Methodology and Technical Approach

The methodology applied in the conduct of the hydrology and drainage design can be
basically simplified into distinctly major tasks. These tasks include as follows:

 field reconnaissance and investigation survey.

 basic data acquisition.
 hydrological analysis.
 drainage design.
 It will be noted that there is a certain amount of interdependence between the tasks.
The activities under each major task are performed according to the criteria, standards
and guidelines of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
complemented by applicable technical manuals and the Consultant’s previous
experience gained in similar undertaking. It should also be stressed that the
Consultant’s analysis and evaluation are based on all available data during the course
of the study. A brief description of the major tasks is summarized in Figure 1.1.

FIGURE 1.1
Major Tasks Involved in Hydrology and Drainage Aspects
of a Highway Project

FIELD RECONNAISSANCE AND BASIC DATA

INVESTIGATION SURVEY ACQUISITION
 Land use  Temperatures
 Major waterways  Climate
 Existing drainage structures  Relative Humidity
 Flood prone areas  Prevailing Winds
 Topography  Rainfall Data
 Surveys  Topographic Maps

HYDROLOGIC
ANALYSIS/REVIEW
 Watershed Delineation
 Rainfall Analysis
 Peak Flow Computation

DRAINAGE DESIGN
 Bridge Opening
 Culverts
 Roadside Drainage
 Scour
CHAPTER 2

FIELD RECONNAISSANCE AND INVESTIGATION SURVEY

2.1 SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES

Site reconnaissance and investigation survey was conducted of the project road during
the month of August 2002. The survey was focused on the drainage features of the
area, which include land use, major waterways, existing drainage structures and flood
prone areas. The objectives and principal considerations of the survey include as
follows:

 familiarization of the project road and its topographic features.

 appraisal of existing land use of the area and its immediate vicinity.
 assessment of the drainage conditions with particular emphasis on the
existing drainage structures.
 assessment of the surface and subsurface conditions, streamflows and
flood levels.

2.2 EXISTING CROSS-DRAINAGE STRUCTURES

Assessment of the existing cross drains was carried out along the road alignment. The
type of culverts installed was of reinforced concrete pipes (RCP) with size of 610mm
to 1220mm in diameter and reinforced concrete box culverts (RCBC) with variable
sizes. The list of the existing culverts showing location, size, length, condition and
notations as to their adequacy are indicated in Tables 2.1 to 2.3 for Sections 2,
Sections 3 to 4, respectively.

Section 2: There are 15 RCPC’s, 12 RCBC’s and 2 undetermined structures, which are
buried in the project road. It can be seen from the summary that about 6 of the RCPC’s
and 9 RCBC’s are structurally in good condition and clean; about 8 RCPC’s and 3
RCBC’s are fair in condition and are slightly silted to half-full while 3 of the culverts
are either fully silted, fully buried or damaged. For the headwalls and wingwall
structures, about 18 are in good condition, 29 in fair condition, and 7 are in bad
condition.

Section 3: There are 81 drainage structures in this road section. There are about 19
structures that are clean and in good condition, 12 structures that are slightly silted,
about 27 structures half to fully silted, 6 structures that have no downstream channels
and have inadequate outlet invert elevations and about 17 structures that are mostly
clean but scouring at the outlet are observed.

Section 4: There are 6 RCBC’s in this section. The condition of the box culverts are
described as fair but heavily silted and vegetated.

Photographs of the existing drainage structures are shown in Appendix A.

2.3 ROADSIDE DRAINAGE
 Section 2: The roadside ditches, which serve to contain storm runoff from higher
grounds are mostly damaged and are visibly absent in some stretches. Table 2.4
summarizes the condition of the existing lined canals. A total length of 2,083.46 linear
meters of the existing canals is damaged. In some canals that are relatively fair,
raveling of the grout have been observed. Most of the canals are buried in the area
where landslides are frequently occurring.

Section 3: A total length of about 8,942.86 linear meters of existing canals is recorded.
About 55% of these canals are damaged, silted and highly vegetated, while about 35%
are described as fair but silted and only about 10% are described as fair condition.
Most of the canals are trapezoidal, while some rectangular and very few triangular
canals are also present. Table 2.5 shows the summary of the inventory of the existing
canals in Section 3.

Section 4: Most of the canals are described as heavily silted (about 76%) and some
slightly silted (about 24%). Since this road section is located within the city proper,
garbage fill up are observed in most canals. In some sections also, the roadside canals
are not continuous such that the outlet is not defined. Table 2.6 shows the summary of
the inventory of the existing canals in Section 4.

Photographs of the existing canals are shown in Appendix B.

2.4 UPHILL DRAINAGE CONDITION IN SECTION 2

The site reconnaissance in Section 2 was not only done along the vicinity of the
highway but also extended up to the uphill area of the highway. There is an existing
concrete canal at the uphill area, about 60m uphill and is parallel to the highway. This
lined canal is intended to receive the runoff from the uphill areas. However, at a
junction forming a T-section, overflowing of the canal is always observed most
especially during heavy rains. But according to residents, not only in the T-junction
does overflowing occur but also along the whole length of the canal. From the canal,
water flows in an uncontrolled direction downslope to the highway. The lined canal is
partially covered and is about 1.0m wide and 1.0m deep. The general condition of the
canal is best described as partially silted and filled with garbage. This lined canal then
connects to the cross drainage at the highway at Sta. 17+633.968 through a concrete
chute. The concrete chute is however described as badly damaged with large cracks.

There are several crisscrossing waterways observed at the uphill area. Signs of massive
erosion are so evident, which can describe the magnitude of water flowing from the
uphill areas. The residents describe that the creeks are progressively increasing in width
and in depth.

There are also several water wells observed in the uphill area. Water table elevations
are observed at a minimum of about 1.0m below the ground level. However, during
rainy days, the wells will overflow and will take days to lower down to its normal
water level.
 A large water tank was also located uphill. This water tank supplies the residents with
water through pipes. The water tank is situated along a waterway and the downstream
already shows signs of erosion.

A large crack was observed at the uphill area and this could be along the fault line
indicated in the geologic maps. Residents also mentioned that years ago, the soil in that
area moved about 1.0m down from the ground level. Signs of erosion are also evident
in the cracks formed.

Figure 2.1 shows the location of some of the wells, water tank and the uphill canals at
the identified critical area.

2.5 DOWNHILL DRAINAGE CONDITION IN SECTION 2

The downhill side of the highway was also visited. However, general assessment shows
the evidence of the soil mass moving downhill. Houses are no longer in an upright
position but rather inclined more than about 15˚ from the vertical. Some houses are
already abandoned due to the critical damages it has obtained from the sliding of the
soil mass. Waterways are also crisscrossing downhill. Ponding of water is observed in
some areas, which indicates the saturation condition of the soil and the high
groundwater elevation. No water table observation was made in this area.

2.6 HISTORICAL INVESTIGATION RELATED TO THE SUBSURFACE

DRAINAGE AND SLOPE STABILITY IN SECTION 2

According to residents, years ago during the Atlas operation, an airport was constructed
in the uphill area. This area is about 50m uphill from the highway and runs parallel
referenced from Sta. 17+280 to 17+600. They call this area now as “landing”. Massive
earthworks were involved which include excavation of the slopes and flattening of a
large area for the runway. Contiguous wooden piles were installed at the downslope to
retain embankment areas. Wooden piles are made of coconut trunks. Horizontal
perforated pipes were also provided for the subsoil drainage. However, during the
construction of the now existing highway road, the residents observed that these pipes
were removed along with the contiguous wooden piles. According to them, since the
opening of the road they already observed significant earth sliding and most especially
during heavy rains. Houses are literally being moved downhill by the sliding soil. It
was also in this area that the residents mentioned of a coalmine. The location has not
been established during the investigation.