Marikina eyes pond, road dike vs another ‘Ondoy’

MANILA, Philippines—The Marikina City government is setting its sights on two major flood-control projects—a P450-million road dike and a water detention pond—to avoid a repeat of the devastation wrought by the 2009 killer storm “Ondoy.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2nd International River Summit hosted by the city, Mayor Del de Guzman said the planned pond would particularly benefit flood-prone communities like Barangays Tumana, Malanday and Nangka by containing floodwater which the Marikina River could not hold.

“We will be releasing the water from the pond to the river when the flood subsides,” De Guzman said on Wednesday.

City engineer Kennedy Sueño said his office was looking at a 15-hectare vacant property in Tumana as possible site of the pond.

Sueño said the local government had also asked the Department of Public Works and Highways to include among its 2015 projects a 11.5-km road dike that will run from Nangka’s border with San Mateo, Rizal province, to Marikina’s border with Quezon City.

The road dike could be built for P450 million, with a minimum elevation of 23 meters and a 10-meter-wide road, he said.

Marikina has an existing road dike in Malanday that was built during the term of Mayor Marides Fernando.