DPWH wants developers to install retarding ponds

MANILA, Philippines - Subdivision developers should install their own retarding ponds to prevent flooding, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson said. 

In a recent roundtable discussion with STAR editors and reporters, Singson reminded local government officials to require developers of subdivisions to include the installation of retarding ponds in their design plans.

He believes that the developers could build a retarding pond in a lot measuring one or two hectares and then cover up the structure with a garden or other adornments. By doing so they would not only beautify their area, but they would also prevent floods, he said. 

When asked how the local mayors responded to his appeal, Singson said they have been very receptive.

“I told the mayors that you can do local ordinances so that no subdivision developer can directly discharge their water pipes into the existing bodies of water. That (direct discharge of floodwater) should already be prohibited,” Singson said. 

“The drainage in the streets was designed to take care of the streets, they were not designed to catch water coming from the subdivisions,” he added. 

The DPWH secretary said he is trying to prevent a scenario similar to Cavite, where what was once farmland had been turned into subdivisions. The rainwater from these private residential areas end up in Imus River or in the open drainage canal, causing floods in Imus and Bacoor.