Above: Graphic of one of the solutions San Antonio, Texas implemented to control their flooding issues.

San Antonio, because of its location, is one of the most flood prone cities in North America. Their solutions to handle flooding are multiple and in many ways innovative. Above, they built a spill control tunnel under the city. They have a system of dams located in the surrounding areas to control flooding; in other words they are cognizant of environmental and geographic issues that contribute to flooding.

While our current fascination is with trash management and garbage control; the fact of the matter is because of Metro Manila’s location we will always be prone to massive flooding. Hence, we have to think a little bigger and a little wider in developing solutions to address our flood problems. Other countries and cities offer templates, models, and solutions that we can borrow from.

We have a historical proclivity for flooding, while the trash issue has compounded that problem in recent decades, flooding is not a recent development. It is a centuries long issue tied directly to our location. Metro Manila has a bay, it has multiple rivers, it borders a major shallow lake, and it at the foot of a mountain ranges (thus making us susceptible to run-off). Additionally, a number of areas in Metro Manila are below sea-level. We are geographically pre-disposed to flooding. Any true and effective package of solutions must keep that in mind.

Flood management is not a simple one-off solution (like trash management), nor will it be easily solved in years. The time to properly address our issues will be measured in decades. Best we start thinking like that.

Note: For more information on San Antonio’s flood control solutions (of which they are constantly refining and adding to) please visit the San Antonio River Authority website.