Pre-Feasibility Study Integrated Flood Risk Management for the City of Valenzuela

Pre-Feasibility Study Integrated Flood Risk Management for the City of Valenzuela February 2014 Executive Summary Cities Development Initiative for Asia P a g e | 2 i. Project Overview 1. The City Government of Valenzuela approached CDIA in January 2014 to provide technical assistance in the areas of “Integrated Flood Risk Management” to address the flooding and drainage problems the City was facing. 2. The objective of this assignment was mainly to carry out at a “Pre-Feasibility Level” a study aimed at identifying potential physical and non-physical interventions for flood mitigation and drainage improvements, and to identify possible sources of funding for formulated intervention sub-projects. Preliminary assessments of the social, economic and environmental impacts of proposed interventions and the City Government’s capacity in dealing with various aspects of flood risk management formed part of the study. 3. The Study, which commenced with a Kick-off Meeting held on 8 September 2014 with Valenzuela City officials, was carried out by a team of international and national consultants over a 5-month period. The Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for the “Integrated Flood Risk Management for the City of Valenzuela” involved the following main activities which were grouped into two main phases: Phase I: Review and Preliminary Design Initial Activities Review Hydro-Meteorological Network in River Basins Assess Land Use Conditions and Watershed Management Flood Hazard and Climate Change Assessment Flood Damage Estimates Flood Zoning Flood Emergency Plan Assessment Assess Performance of Existing Flood Protection & Stormwater Facilities Identification and Prioritisation of Potential Interventions Phase II: Formulation and Preparation of an Investment Project Identify High-Priority Flood Protection Facilities and Improvements To The Existing Drainage Systems Prepare Concept Designs and Preliminary Cost Estimates Financial & Economic Analyses Initial Environmental Examination Assess Potential Social Impacts Capacity Building for Improved Flood Management Prepare a Design and Monitoring Framework (DMF) 4. Above activities were successfully carried out by the Consulting Team and have culminated in the preparation of the final report for the Study. Details of the Study, findings and proposed investment projects are contained in the Main Report and accompanying Annexes. A. Stakeholder Consultations 5. Stakeholder consultations played an active role in carrying out the PFS. Key informant interviews were conducted with concerned City staff and officials of related government agencies involved in flood protection and flood risk management in order to obtain relevant information for the Study. A rapid socioeconomic survey was conducted among 20 barangays considered as highrisk flood prone areas, with a total of 300 household respondents. The survey identified the socioeconomic impacts of floods, determined the Cities Development Initiative for Asia P a g e | 3 vulnerabilities of the communities to floods, coping mechanisms during flood occurrences, perceived benefits of the proposed program, and willingness to participate in community- based flood management schemes. Focus group discussions (FGD) with target high risk/flood prone barangays were held with barangay officials, representatives from the community groups and residents engaged in disaster response. To obtain feedback from a mix of stakeholders regarding the proposed interventions prior to final selection of interventions, a workshop was held in January 2015 with about 120 participants majority of whom were from the flood affected barangays. 6. An overview of the Study’s findings, proposed investment projects and financing are presented in the following sections. ii. Sector Status: Performance, Key Issues and Framework B. Climate Change Adaptation 7. Climate change has been definitely increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the Philippines, particularly in coastal regions including Metro Manila. These areas are the most vulnerable to damages and destructions. Several key impacts to these coastal areas, as identified by the IPCC, are low land inundation and wetland displacement; altered tidal range in rivers and bays; changes in sedimentation patterns; more severe storm surges and flooding; increased saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers; and increased wind and rainfall damage. 8. According to the PAGASA-DOST projections, the whole of the National Capital Region would experience higher temperatures during summer seasons, and increased rainfall during the rainy season, by year 2020 and 2050. Higher temperatures will results in water shortages, and increased rainfall may induce heavy and intense flooding. Seasonal temperature will increase by 0.9 to 1.1oC by 2020 and 1.8 to 2.2oC in 2050. Seasonal rainfall will change by -33.3% to 8.5% in 2020 while a much wider range of -38.5% to 23.3% by 2050 producing a net increase on the amount of annual rainfall. 9. In order to be consistent with the recent April 2013 study “Master Plan for Flood Management in Metro Manila and Surrounding Areas”, the pre-feasibility study for Valenzuela City have also adopted the A1B scenario for the climate change analysis for the PFS with an 11.9% increase in the 2-day rainfall depths for all return periods and 0.24m sea level rise for the backwater analysis of the Meycauayan and Tullahan Rivers and overland flooding. When the increases to the historical rainfall data were applied, the increased depths would allow a comparison of the frequency of the storm events with the historical record using the standard statistical distribution method. 10. The flood water level in the Meycauayan and Tullahan Rivers will be higher due to climate change and thus floodwalls need to be increased and strengthened in order to prevent 30-year return period floods from entering the City. Drainage facilities in Valenzuela City will need to be enlarged and additional pumping capacity provided in order to evacuate the additional floodwaters in a reasonable and economical amount of time, such as 48-72 hours. 11. As compliance to the national directive, the City developed a local climate change action plan for the period 2014-2018. Barangays will be directly involved with the Valenzuela City Government in prioritizing climate change issues and identifying and implementing best practices and other solutions. Climate change adaptation will now be incorporated as regular functions down to the barangay levels. The City Units are expected to regularly update their respective action plans to reflect changing social, economic, and environmental conditions Cities Development Initiative for Asia P a g e | 4 and merging issues. The City of Valenzuela will have to furnish the CCC updates on their CCA initiatives. 12. The City’s local Climate Change Adaptation team identified 7 core development areas: (a) health, (b) agriculture, (c) water, (d) biodiversity, (e) energy, (f) engineering and infrastructure, and (g) environment. For each core development, the City identified the climate change vulnerability and prioritized the key actions that must be done as adaptation measures. Target stakeholders were identified and regular meetings are conducted to monitor compliance and targets. The challenge is on the monitoring of actual benefits and impacts to the adaptive capacity of the City in addressing vulnerabilities. The City must be able to regularly assess the implementation of the plan, update when necessary and provide some improvement plans. C. Social Assessment 13. A rapid socioeconomic survey was conducted among 20 barangays considered as high-risk flood prone areas, with a total of 300 household respondents. Among the surveyed respondents, majority signified that the level of flooding in their area is from moderate (i.e., damage to furniture and fixtures) to severe (i.e., caused structural damage and loss of assets). On the frequency of flooding, majority indicated that the flooding occurs during extreme weather conditions only (i.e., extreme monsoon rains, strong typhoons, etc.). The length of time before the flood would subside usually takes after several days. 14. A significant number of respondents experienced adverse impacts of flooding on their water supply sources and sanitary facilities, specifically with the water changing in color and having foul odor after the floods and the toilet facilities being submerged in water or are still clogged due to the recent floods. The latest flooding occurrence also resulted in structural damages in the housing units, and damages on housing furniture and fixtures. Majority of the respondents also experienced evacuation or temporary relocation, with an average length of stay at the temporary shelter at about 3 days. 15. The experience of the surveyed respondents on being financially worse off due to floods is further validated during the focus group discussions at the barangays. The families become financially worse due to the inability of the working family members to go to work, the additional expenses for the house repairs and cleaning, and for medicines or medical services for the illnesses or injuries due to floods. This is further aggravated by the increase in prices of local food supplies and cost of transportation during flood events 16. The potential social impacts and risks of the proposed structural interventions of the program include (a) partial or full loss of assets due to right of way requirements, with an initial estimate of 450 affected

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