Time and again, floods submerge parts of the Philippines whenever a strong typhoon slashes across the archipelago. The flooding, caused by heavy rains and the release of excess water from major dams, is a clear manifestation of how the country is mismanaging its water resources.
Typhoon Ulysses battered Metro Manila, Central Luzon, the Bicol region and Southern Luzon for a least two days this week. Its rains caused major flooding, inundated several low-lying areas and forced the evacuation of thousands of Filipinos. The heavy rains overflowed dams, prompting authorities to release the excess water to preserve the integrity of the infrastructure facilities.
Dams are specifically built to store water during the rainy season and control the swelling of rivers and tributaries downstream where communities are situated. With the stored water, the dams feed the irrigation systems that criss cross rice and other farmlands during the dry season, and also provide cheap electricity.
Major dams in Northern Luzon and Central Luzon, however, had to dump excess water because of the heavy rains brought by the typhoon. The Magat Dam in Isabela, Ipo in Bulacan and Ambuklao and Binga in Benguet released “unwanted” water from their reservoir that eventually found their way in nearby lowland areas before emptying into the main river and the open sea.
The inundation of some towns in Metro Manila, meanwhile, should remind the government of the need to build similar dams, dikes or water impounding facilities to tame the Marikina River. The country’s engineers can draw up a plan to control the swelling of the waterway.
Headwaters in the Sierra Madre Mountains in Rodriguez, Rizal (formerly Montalban) flow down and join Marikina River that snakes around several towns and cities, including Marikina, San Mateo, Quezon City, Cainta and Pasig. Heavy rains from strong typhoons such as Ulysses and Ondoy expand this river, causing untold damage to many communities.
Metro Manila, thus, needs major dams or flood control structures near the base of the Sierra Madre Mountains to counter the deluge of rain. An average of 20 storms and typhoons hit the Philippines every year. It will be a shame if precious water brought by the typhoons is wasted into the open sea, instead of being harnessed as drinking water and irrigation source during the dry season.