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‘PSS Lake’ rises anew
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Posted on Jan 10 2006
“PSS Lake,” the stagnant pool of water in the backyard of the Public School System’s Procurement and Supply Office and the Pupil Transportation Office in Lower Base, has gotten larger.
The Saipan Tribune saw yesterday that “PSS Lake” now covers almost the entire parking lot, forcing school bus drivers to wear rubber boots just to board their vehicles for their daily rounds.
PTO bus team leader Steven Pangelinan said he called the Division of Environmental Quality yesterday morning, but the agency referred his case to the Department of Public Works. He then called DPW but was told that the DPW is still waiting for funding from the Workforce Investment Office.
“PSS Lake” was initially reported in November, days after the CNMI general election. Officers from the DPW and Division of Fish and Wildlife visited the site immediately to inspect the severe flooding; even an officer from WIA arrived to survey the ponding of the water.
“But they came, they saw, and they left,” said Pangelinan.
He said that, after that initial visit, none of them returned to solve the problem. He said the Pupil Transportation Office was very thankful for the initial attention given to the situation but they got frustrated when nothing came out of it.
Pangelinan said the stagnant water has now become a habitat not only for tilapias but also for eels. The bus drivers said the heavy rains only exacerbate the situation and the stagnant water emanates a foul odor that could be smelled throughout the compound. The water has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
The parking lot is the depot for the buses that transport Saipan’s school childrento and from school. Pangelinan said that the agencies should be concerned for the welfare of the kids.
“Don’t do it for us, do it for the kids,” he urged.
During a heavy downpour this weekend, Pangelinan said the water level rose and reached as far as the PSS Lower Base’s media office. Three to four hours of rain last weekend also resulted in the entire compound being enveloped in foul-smelling floodwaters, he said.
Bus drivers said supplies in both offices always have to be brought to a platform to keep them away from the rising floodwaters.
