MAP Insights
By Dr. Andreas Klippe
The need to protect flood-management infrastructure from floods
Eleven years ago in September 2009, Tropical Storm Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) plunged many parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) into waist- to rooftop-level floodwaters. The people of NCR, especially those in the cities of Pasig, Quezon, Manila, Caloocan, Muntinlupa, and Marikina lost their homes and livelihoods. Some, unfortunately, lost their lives. Cold, tired, hungry, and weak, some even had managed to climb the highest parts of their houses, waiting for the flood to cease.
Eleven years later, with the horror of Ondoy still in the consciousness of some, another typhoon struck the capital. Typhoon Ulysses (Vamco), again, brought the people of NCR to another horrendous, heart-stopping calamity.
“Déjà vu? It’s happening again.”
In Quezon City, Ulysses recorded a rainfall intensity of 150 millimeters of rain within a 24-hour period; Ondoy, on the other hand, dumped 411 millimeters within a nine-hour period. Considering this, Ulysses should have been less destructive than Ondoy. Or so we thought.
Despite the smaller total amount of rainfall dumped by Ulysses, we saw major flooding situations in many parts of NCR — especially in Marikina City.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) noted that the occurrence of three more storms before Ulysses contributed to the massive flooding: Typhoon Pepito (Saudel), Typhoon Quinta (Molave), and Super Typhoon Rolly (Goni).
PUMP OUT THE FLOOD
In the 1970s, water pumping stations were built as a solution for NCR’s flood problem. These stations work as a means for pumping out the water from the flooded areas to the river or any body of water. Without these pumping stations doing their jobs, we can be certain that the whole of NCR will be plunged underwater.
Currently, there are 64 pumping stations in the capital according to Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Because they help the floodwater subside immediately, it is necessary that the pumping stations are working efficiently.
However, considering the extremity of flood problems, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the MMDA, with financial funding from the World Bank, have set up a plan that will improve NCR’s resilience to flooding.
This initiative gave birth to the Metro Manila Flood Management Project. Basically, one of the aims of this project is to improve the urban drainage system, modernize existing pumping stations and construct new ones. The project will modernize 36 existing pumping stations around NCR. It will also put up 20 new pumping stations. This is thought to be a very noble cause since a lot of the drainage pipes and pumping stations were built 50 years ago and need some serious renovation.
OH, THE IRONY!
Water pumping stations are supposed to manage flooding so it is so ironic when they are flooded. Flooding occurs when accumulated garbage clogs the drainage or the river overflows and drenches the stations.
Flooding can damage the mechanical and electrical components of the pumping stations. It can also cause corrosion and leakage. When a piece of equipment is damaged, it needs to be repaired. Repairing requires money to be spent. Repairing requires time to be spent.
Not only that, the problem escalates when another typhoon surfaces in the midst of repairing a pumping station destroyed by a preceding typhoon. What if a series of typhoons continuously batter the country in just a few months and we are in the middle of repairing a destroyed pumping station? Do you honestly think we can proceed with repairing?
IS MODERNIZING ENOUGH?
Given these, the question about the sustainability of water pumping situations is put into question. One may also ask if it is enough to just modernize them. Floodwater does not choose which pumping stations are “modernized” and which are not. Floodwater does not stop even at the most modern infrastructure. It just does what it usually does — flow toward us and inundate us.
Do you remember Hurricane Katrina that struck the United States in 2005? This Category 5 Atlantic Hurricane damaged a water system that consisted of 125 miles of pipes and 90 pumping stations. A study by Elizabeth Chilsom titled “Impact of Hurricanes and Flooding on Buried Infrastructure” spells the damage that flooding brought to the water system. According to the study, “Flooding exposed pipes to conditions such as subsidence, soil swelling, and the loss of bedding support through the infiltration of water… It took four days to repressurize the water system…”
If this can happen to a developed country, what are the chances of it happening to the Philippines? We cannot be left unguarded to what can happen in the next months and the next years. If Ulysses, which dumped less rain than Ondoy, can cause massive flooding, how sure are we that we will not be flooded by another “ordinary” typhoon? We cannot be sure of anything; we cannot let our guard down.
The Philippine government has done much with this initiative of improving the water pumping systems. However, we should always consider that these stations can also be prone to flooding. Flood-protecting the stations can save the government a lot of worry. It can focus on other matters like providing support to the residents stricken with flood. The government can also save a lot of money because there is no need for unnecessary repair.
BLOCK THE FLOOD
One effective solution for protecting infrastructure is the setting up of barriers. Flood barriers are structures that are put around a house, a property, a building, or a piece of equipment to stop floodwater from getting into it during heavy flooding caused by typhoons or intermittent rain.
Efforts to modernize the water pumping systems — thanks to the DPWH and MMDA, with the World Bank — are good, but they may not be enough. We have to protect the stations. We have to protect the equipment therein. There are many problems that cannot be easily solved by merely “modernizing.”
There is still the issue with garbage. There is still a problem with the river overflowing. There is still a concern about low-lying areas. Modernizing the water pumping stations, as I have mentioned, is a noble cause. But it is not enough.
What we need to do is protect these infrastructures with flood barriers. Only when we protect them can they also protect us against floods. And only when we are protected will we continue protecting our families and our properties.
This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).
Dr. Andreas Klippe is the Chair and President of Flood Control Asia RS Corp., Clark, Pampanga. He is responsible for all RS activities in Asia/Pacific, Chair of the North Luzon Chapter of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. He is a speaker, a writer, a German engineer, and a Philippine resident.
