Jan Jylyn Galvez | Andrea T. Martin | Clark Cedrick B. Sicat | John Cris V. Wenceslao | Dennis L. Estacio
Discipline: Civil Engineering
Low-lying coastal neighborhoods of Metro Manila, including Er-mita, continue to struggle with flooding. Recent discussions have suggested that the 2020 Manila Bay Dolomite Beach coastal re-plenishment project may have made the issue worse by changing local hydrodynamics. This study used a descriptive-comparative case study design based on secondary data from peer-reviewed journal articles, government reports, academic writings, environ-mental assessments, and verified news articles to compare the fre-quency and duration of flooding in Ermita before (2015-2020) and after (2021-2025) the project's construction. High tides, severe rainfall, and inadequate drainage maintenance were the main causes of the frequent but mostly transient pre-construction floods. On the other hand, post-construction data showed more frequent and rerouted major drainage outfalls in Faura, Remedios, and Estero de San Antonio Abad as a result of artificial beach struc-tures that reduced the effectiveness of stormwater discharge into Manila Bay. The results showed that although flooding existed be-fore the project, the development of Dolomite Beach inadvertently decreased the urban drainage system's capacity, which prolonged Ermita's floods. In order to guarantee that environmental and aes-thetic projects improve rather than jeopardize long-term resili-ence and public safety, the study emphasizes the vital need for thor-ough, multidisciplinary planning that integrates coastal engineer-ing interventions with the current urban hydrological infrastruc-ture.
ISSN 2774-5368 (Online)
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