The incessant rains that we are experiencing are prompting our government executives to look for innovative ways to control flooding, especially in Metro Manila.
Floods disrupt economic activities. Our workers have to labor through submerged roads and highways before reaching their workplace. They do so at the risk of endangering their health. They also lose quality time to be with their family because of the long hours it take to go home.
Climate change and extreme weather are now the new normal and unless we take steps to mitigate flooding, our workers, students and the rest of the population will be at the mercy of nature.
But I remain optimistic that we can find solutions to the perennial problem. I just read in the papers and learned from broadcast media that the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is doing its best to mitigate floods.
The agency is prioritizing five sites for a new flood-mitigation program that will temporarily capture and store rainwater as Metro Manila shifts toward ‘sponge city’ and nature-based solutions.
The MMDA selected the sites from an initial 107 locations following nearly three years of feasibility studies and consultations with local governments, experts and landowners.
The feasibility study, conducted by Haskoning of the The Netherlands, with funding from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, has been completed, with MMDA Chairman Don Artes describing the identified projects as ‘execution-ready.’
Haskoning, formerly known as Royal Haskoning DHV, is an international engineering consultancy firm with over 140 years of global engineering experience and a team that understands every stage of flood and coastal management.
For such projects, the MMDA identified Camp Aguinaldo, Miriam College, Remedios Circle, Rajah Sulayman and the UP Sunken Garden as priority sites.
Artes is confident that the MMDA can finish the priority sites by June 2027. The five projects are part of a broader program covering 39 sites across Metro Manila. They were selected from an initial 107 locations following nearly three years of feasibility studies and consultations with local governments, experts and landowners.
The projects seek to temporarily retain rainwater at or near areas where it naturally accumulates, preventing drainage systems, rivers and esteros from being overwhelmed during heavy rainfall.
The system combines conventional flood-control infrastructure, such as pumping stations, with nature-based measures including underground cisterns, permeable pathways, sunken gardens, lagoons and other open spaces designed to absorb or temporarily retain rainwater.
I agree with our authorities. With climate change, extreme weather conditions and heavy downpours, we can no longer control or fight water. We can manage or redirect its flow, however, to protect the population and properties.
I believe the catchment projects will complement the rehabilitation of pumping stations and construction of new ones to significantly improve conditions in flood-prone areas. They will significantly reduce localized flooding and improve the capacity of existing drainage and flood-control systems.
‘Under existing facilities, such as football fields and open fields, areas can be excavated even if buildings are present,’ says President Marcos.
The proposed underground water-retention facilities are no different from water-impounding dams that the countryside needs to sustain agricultural farming. The Philippines faces heavy rains after the dry season. Unfortunately, we cannot store the excess water to help in farm irrigation due to the lack of impounding dams. The water merely flows into rivers and the open sea, depriving our farmers of the resource they need during the dry season.
As I’ve said in this column before, the lack of discipline is contributing to the flooding in the metropolis. Trash and garbage are clogging our waterways, eventually resulting in the flooding. We could probably solve half of the flooding problem if we have the discipline to dispose our trash properly.
In addition, we need a whole-of-nation approach to beat the problem, instead of relying solely on the government. We are all stakeholders capable of providing solutions and protecting our environment as a whole.