QC builds more flood-mitigating ponds before rainy season

The city government is building additional retention and detention ponds as part of its flood mitigation efforts ahead of the rainy season.

In a statement Tuesday, Mayor Joy Belmonte said one of the projects is a “3-in-1” facility at the Quezon City Memorial Circle that will function as a park, retention pond, and detention pond.

The facility can store up to 651 cubic meters of water, equivalent to around 3,255 200-liter drums, helping reduce flooding in surrounding areas.

It will also feature a natural filtration system with a capacity of 282 cubic meters, or about 1,410 200-liter drums, with treated water to be reused for landscape irrigation across the city.

Belmonte said the project is expected to be completed and operational before the onset of the rainy season.

Aside from the facility under construction, the city also operates a detention basin beneath the Sta. Monica Basketball Court, which can hold up to 1,700 cubic meters of water.

The basin uses gravity and requires no pumps, employing two locking mechanisms to regulate the flow of accumulated rainwater into the Tullahan River.

“Ang mga flood control project po na ating ipinapagawa tulad nito, sa Gil Araneta Avenue, at sa Sta. Monica Basketball Court ay alinsunod sa ating Drainage Masterplan (DMP) na binuo ng UP Resilience Institute sa pangunguna ni Dr. Mahar Lagmay,” Belmonte said.

(The flood control projects we are implementing, including those in Gil Araneta Avenue and the Sta. Monica Basketball Court, are aligned with our Drainage Masterplan [DMP] developed with the UP Resilience Institute under the leadership of Dr. Mahar Lagmay.)

The DMP, formulated in 2022, aims to address persistent flooding issues in Quezon City.

The city is also adopting strategies similar to those used in Bonifacio Global City, which features a 22,000-cubic-meter underground detention tank beneath Burgos Circle to prevent flooding.

Water collected in BGC’s system is eventually released into nearby creeks that drain into the Pasig River, helping mitigate flooding in the area.—MCG, GMA News