HAZARD REDUCTION AND VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS OF THE SAGUMAYON

RIVER (PROJECT 1: STUDY 3)

TOPOGRAPHIC AND HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY OF SAGUMAYON RIVER
OLIVER E. ALIGAN
Associate Professor V, BU College of Engineering

INTRODUCTION
The Sagumayon River is a part of a river system that stretches all the way from the upper portion of
Daraga, is joined by the Colabos Creek at the back of the Bicol University Main Campus, and passes thru
Barangay 2 EMs Bo. South, winds through the Albay District area, then joined by the Ruran and
Macabalo Rivers at Cabangan, Legazpi City before spilling out into the Albay Gulf. It is one of the rivers
that continue to be threatened by household and industrial wastes. These factors affect the river negatively.
The degradation of the said river has led to the overflowing of the water in the river, bank collapse, erosion
and sedimentation and scouring that greatly affects the people residing in the area. A Hazard Reduction and
Vulnerability Analysis study may provide answers to the current concerns regarding the condition of the
Sagumayon River and as part of the study, a topographic and hydrographic survey of the river will be
conducted . It is expected also that from the experience gained in this research, the Bicol University College
of Engineering will acquire design and planning capabilities that will address similar cases in other river
systems in the Bicol Region. Likewise, the study is related and supportive of the BU Comprehensive Land
Use Plan by providing basis for a sound development strategy in terms of disaster reduction and hazard
mitigation for the affected area which is the target of development expansion of the University. The studys
aim is to generate a topographic map and river profile for Sagumayon River. Specifically, the studys
objectives are to establish horizontal and vertical controls along Sagumayon River and to gather survey data
about the natural and man-made features of the Sagumayon River.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
As a preliminary step in the research, basic geometric data shall be obtained by conducting a
topographic and hydrographic survey of the river using the Spectra Focus 8 Total Station instrument and the
two pole mounted prism. Horizontal and vertical controls tied from known BBMs and Benchmarks will be
establish at specific locations for control points and future survey reference. After the field survey, the data
will be plotted using AutoCad Land Desktop Software. Stationings, cross sections and topographic map of
the river will be generated including its elevation and profile of the center line.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The research area which is the Sagumayon River located on the southern part of Bicol University
was surveyed to the research objectives. A topographic/ hydrographic map, river profile and cross

sections were generated from the conducted survey.

The topographic map shows a minor contour interval of 1.0m and a major contour interval of 5.0m.
With reference to the figure, the brown lines (bolder line) represents the major contour lines and the green
lines (lighter lines) represents the minor contour lines. Stationings every 20 meters were placed along the
river center line.The total length of the Sagumayon River which encroaches within the property of Bicol
University that was surveyed was 810.00m. For the natural and man-made features found along the
Sagumayon River, the creek side is covered with dense vegetation. A Reinforced Concrete Box Culvert is
located at Sta.0+104, and at the left side of the river from Sta 0+140 Sta 0+660 serves as residential area.
Concrete Riprap for slope protection is at Sta. 0+210- 0+260, Sta. 0+545- 0+565, and Sta. 0+725 -0+770.
Boundary fencing using cyclone wire was also observed along Sagumayon River whereas it is inside the
University premises. The presence of the reservoir and the Japanese Tunnel near the river was also noted by
the researcher. With reference to the riverbed profile, the creek elevation varies abruptly. The upstream
elevation and downstream elevation was recorded to be 47.04 and 39.67m, respectively.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
The conducted topographic and hydrographic mapping was limited only within the Bicol University
property which has a total length of 810 meters from upstream to downstream with an average width of the
river equal to + 10.80m. With the obtained topographic map, it shows that there are low lying areas and
steeper areas near/ and at the Sagumayon River. From the elevations of riverbed profile generated in the
survey, the difference in the elevation from the upstream to downstream was 7.37m. The existence of the old
structure (e.g Japanese Tunnel) near the Sagumayon River can be developed for an eco-tourism activity.
Slope protection measures that will be put up along the Sagumayon River must be studied properly to
determine what will be the appropriate structure based on the given topography and soil conditions. Without
proper understanding of what remediation measures should be done, it will be just a waste of resources and
time. It was evidenced from the retaining wall that was constructed along the Sagumayon River that was
already collapsed. The flow regimes of the river wasnt considered in the design.

AUTHOR
ALIGAN, OLIVER E.
Associate Professor V