Marikina

Marikina river is the major waterway in the city. It flows alongside the Valley Fault Line, and so Marikina faces riverine flooding, earthquakes from the fault, and liquefaction along the Marikina riverbanks. The river became heavily polluted with domestic sewage and industrial waste. The end result was poor water quality and flooding that claimed lives and destroyed property. Informal settlements along the riverbanks added to the pressures of pollution and flooding.
Uncontrolled encroachment on the riverbanks by informal settlers, structures within the river, plus the indiscriminate disposal of both domestic and industrial wastes worsened the impacts of the annual river flooding events. The main objective was to rehabilitate the river.
Sanitation was a major concern since the households either created make-shift toilets near the riverbanks or disposed of their wastes directly into the river. They could not have access to basic facilities such as potable water and sanitation because of their status as informal occupants of the land. The environmental problems included limited garbage collection and dumping of wastes on open land and waterways. Aside from being irregular, the garbage collection service did not reach the settlements near the riverbanks. Some parts of the riverbanks turned into small illegal dumpsites; piles of wastes that would fall from these dumpsites into the river were carried by the current and eventually impeded the flow of water. River Rehabilitation in Developing CountriesTowns and cities worldwide have historically been established close to or around waterways that provide access to food, water and transport.
Most examples of river rehabilitation deal with measures like restructuring of banks, construction of in-stream structures or local widening with particular emphasis on the significance of the different aspects of sustainability. Sustainability includes environmental (such as protection of nature), social (like flood protection and recreation) and economic aspects (like economic proportionality. Sustainable approach should include the following components: (1) flood control; (2) environmental management; and (3) housing and resettlement.
Flood events like these were considered normal for the rainy season. In part, this situation was due to an inefficient drainage system as well as obstructions along and within the river.
Marikina began a flood-control project:
• Construction or rehabilitation of major outfalls.
• Improvements in the networks of canals, drainage systems, creeks and waterways.
• Paving roads to reduce the amount of sand, pebbles and mud that enters the drainage system.
• Removal of informal settlements through the resettlement program, and the removal of commercial buildings, slaughterhouses and other industries from the riverside.
• Regular river dredging, which is a responsibility of the national government that the city government took on.
Programs that have flood disaster risk reduction as a secondary benefit are sustaining the disaster risk reduction effort include the relocation of informal settlers to safer places, emergency preparedness efforts, river rehabilitation, and solid waste management.
The inefficient collection of solid wastes was seen as a major contributor to river pollution, either through direct dumping of wastes in the waterways or via throwing of uncollected garbage near the riverbanks. Solid waste accumulated as sludge in the waterways and impeded the drainage of flood waters. Upon recognizing this, the local government strictly enforced an anti-dumping ordinance and introduced a refuse collection policy. Residents are initially informed of the collection schedule and how to dispose of their garbage. Garbage was allowed to be placed outside the home only on the day and time of collection.