QC subdivisions told to build water retention ponds to minimize floods

Q.C. Mayor Herbert Bautista. FILE PHOTO

Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista has encouraged private subdivisions to set up retention ponds in their areas to minimize flooding as these will help prevent waterways from spilling over during a heavy downpour.

At the same time, he ordered subdivision administration unit chief Pedro Rodriguez Jr. to coordinate with the different homeowners’ associations to identify areas where these could be built.

He also directed City Engineer Joselito Cabungcal to coordinate with the two private water concessionaires, Maynilad and Manila Water, to discuss if they would be willing to share the cost of construction and waste water treatment projects.

The decision of the water concessionaires would then be presented to the city’s disaster risk reduction and environmental councils for approval and possible inclusion in their projects and funding.

In a statement, Bautista said the retention ponds could be used to impound rainwater, reduce flooding and downstream erosion, as well as the overflow and swelling of waterways in the area.

According to the US-based Sustainable Cities Institute website, a retention pond or wet pond is built to store storm water runoff. The amassed rainwater is eventually emptied, after treatment through sedimentation and nutrient uptake, into a receiving body of water.—Jeannette I. Andrade