MMDA upgrades pumping station to ease flooding along Taft Avenue

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is expanding the water storage and pumping capacity of the Padre Faura Pumping Station in Manila to reduce flooding along Taft Avenue, with the intervention projected to lower flood depth in four catchment areas by six centimeters.

Under the first phase of the project, the MMDA will expand the station’s detention pond capacity by 1,500 cubic meters and install an additional pump capable of discharging one cubic meter of water per second, bringing the station’s total discharge capacity to three cubic meters per second.

“Bawas-baha sa Taft Avenue ang pangunahing layunin ng ginagawang improvement ng Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) sa Padre Faura Pumping Station sa Maynila,” the agency said in its announcement.

The agency said the project aims to address flooding caused by heavy rainfall in the Faura, Remedios, Abad and P. Ocampo/V. Cruz catchment areas.

When rainfall reaches 100 millimeters in one hour, these areas can accumulate an estimated 1,265,011.20 cubic meters of floodwater, resulting in flooding about 0.40 meter deep, according to the MMDA.

The planned intervention is expected to reduce floodwater volume by 185,860 cubic meters, equivalent to about 74 Olympic-sized swimming pools, and lower flood depth from 0.40 meter to 0.34 meter.

The MMDA also cited rainwater impounding facilities in nearby areas, including the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, which it said could help reduce floodwater volume by 59% across the four catchment areas.###