THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has identified 80 flood-prone areas in Metro Manila where flooding is exacerbated by the haphazard dumping of garbage and the limited capacity of the drainage system.
“What are the reasons for flooding? One, they are located in low-lying areas and the drainage system cannot accommodate the flood water and it is also clogged by garbage,” MMDA chief Romando Artes said in a press briefing where he discussed the preparations of the agency for the coming rainy season.
Artes said the number of flood-prone areas has “substantially decreased” compared to previous years, attributing this to the agency’s intervention measures.
Last Friday, several areas in Metro Manila, particularly in Quezon City, suffered flash floods due to the heavy rain caused by localized thunderstorms.
Artes said intervention measures by the MMDA, Department of Public Works and Highways and the 17 local government units in Metro Manila — ranging from cleaning up and de-clogging of esteros and other waterways, construction and upgrading of new and existing pumping stations and information drive — have played a part in overall efforts to address the problem of flooding in the metropolis.
He said the MMDA has cleaned 199,517 linear meters of drainage system from January 1 to May 12 this year and also installed 163 trash traps along waterways, including 28 located in pumping stations so that garbage will not clog the waterways and the operation of the pumping stations would not be affected, especially during heavy downpour.
Before the installation of the thrash traps, the agency collected around 32,000 cubic meters of garbage at pumping stations. With the traps installed, he said the volume of garbage collected decreased to around 10,000 cubic meters.
But Artes acknowledged that more can and should be done to ensure a flood-free Metro Manila.
“It is still concerning since there is still a substantial jump in garbage that ended up in the waterways, around 52,000 cubic meters per year before the installation, so there are probably around 20,000 cubic meters that ended up in our waterways,” he added.
He said in areas such as Espana, Taft, UN Ave., Araneta Ave., Maysilo Circle and EDSA near Camp Aguinaldo where the volume of flood waters is substantially bigger compared to other areas, the MMDA is collaborating with the DPWH in erecting flood control infrastructure projects to address the problem.
He said the DPWH has completed the construction of two pumping stations to address flooding on Taft and UN Avenues in Manila while the construction of another one at Padre Faura is ongoing.
The two pumping stations, he said, will be turned over by the DPWH to the MMDA after some minor testing is done.
Artes said flooding in Espana will be substantially addressed with the operation of four pumping stations and the construction of a fifth one — the Sunog Apog pumping station — which will also be turned over to the MMDA.
Artes said all the agency’s 71 pumping stations are fully operational, with 36 of them “currently being upgraded with funding from the World Bank.
“The upgrade will help to substantially upgrade their capacity,” he said, adding there are also 61 various flood control projects ongoing in Metro Manila.
“We expect their completion within the year,” he added.
Last year, Artes said 104 flood control projects were completed.
Artes said they see the upgrading of Metro Manila’s drainage system as the long-term solution to flooding, especially in low-lying areas.
Last year, Artes said a 50-year drainage master plan to mitigate flooding in the metropolis was approved by the World Bank.
The World Bank will provide the funding through a soft loan, with Artes saying the master plan, including a detailed engineering design, will cost around P600 million.
The plan will also consider the changing weather pattern, sea level, and projected rainfall to make sure it is effective and will last for as much as five decades.
