QC LGU's new basketball court in Brgy. Santa Monica features a detention basin to address flooding

The Quezon City government opened on January 3 a basketball court built with a detention basin underneath to address flooding. 

The all-in-one facility located in Palmera Homes Phase III in Barangay Santa Monica has the capacity to hold 1,700 cubic meters of water, or more than half of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. 

“Ang imprastraktura na ito ay malaking tulong upang matugunan ang pagbaha sa ating lungsod alinsunod sa ating Drainage Masterplan,” said QC Mayor Joy Belmonte in a statement. 

(This infrastructure is a huge help in addressing flooding in our city, in accordance with our Drainage Masterplan.) 

The Quezon City government partnered with the UP Research Institute in developing a drainage master plan (DMP) for the city, and on social media, Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH) Center executive director Mahar Lagmay said the detention basins in Quezon City are strategically placed.

“It is based on the master drainage plan crafted by UPRI-NOAH and the QC LGU. UP-NOAH researchers used combined drainage flow and surface runoff simulations to determine where these detention basins can be most effective,” he said. 

“The DMP covers all of the City’s 142 barangays and integrates all 44 tributaries and 5 major river systems that pass through the city’s jurisdiction with the man-made drainage systems built by the various government agencies involved with drainage and roadworks,” the QC government said in an earlier statement. 

As of July 2025, over 150 flood mitigation projects have been completed, including detention basins, the QC government added. 

— LA, GMA Integrated News