While nearby areas were inundated by floodwaters and threatened by landslides brought by the recent convergence of a low pressure area and the tail end of a cold front in Northern Mindanao, Filinvest One Oasis Cagayan de Oro managed to weather the calamity with relatively minor inconveniences.
Filinvest One Oasis Cagayan de Oro slope protection and flood control
That’s because all One Oasis projects are engineered to cope with extreme weather conditions with an integrated drainage system of eco-friendly features which includes swales, dissipator canals, reinforced concrete pipe culverts and an underground detention pond.
The system starts with swales, which are landscape elements designed to manage water run-off and in dissipator canals that slow down the movement of water. They consist of swaled drainage course and gently sloped (less than 6%) filled with vegetation, compost and riprap.
The water’s flow path, along with the wide and shallow ditch, is designed to slow down the movement of water and maximize the time it spends in the swale to optimize the trapping of pollutants and silt. Besides managing water runoff, the swales also prevent soil erosion and improve the rate rainwater is absorbed by the ground.
After being slowed down by the swale, the filtered water next goes through a dissipater or bioswale (another type of biofilter), which is designed to break apart water before releasing it to the storm drainage system leading to nearby Bitan-ag Creek and eventually to the Macajalar Bay.
To cope with extremely heavy rainfall, the system also has a detention pond to control flood waters by temporarily holding it back while slowly draining it to another location at a more appropriate time.
When an area like the One Oasis CDO community is paved, or covered with buildings, water runs off the property much faster than in its natural state. The total water volume of a downpour may be the same, but it happens over a shorter amount of time, so the detention pond holds back the rainwater and keeps the runoff to the desired rate.
“When the rain ends, water stored in the detention pond will be emptied shortly afterwards to another outlet leading to the river or sea, or stored underground for re-use and recycling,” explained Ma. Arabelle Solidum, FLI Northern Mindanao Area Manager. “This prevents it from aggravating floods in nearby areas and creeks.”
Filinvest One Oasis Cagayan de Oro unit owners are well protected from landslides and floods by slope protection and rain management and control measures as vividly shown in this photo taken during the recent heavy downpours which flooded portions of the city.
Collected water can be recycled for non-potable use such as irrigating the community’s green areas. The whole One Oasis Cagayan de Oro complex which will eventually house some 1,300 units in five condominium buildings shall benefit from these features.
On top of all these, One Oasis Cagayan de Oro is also equipped with a sewage treatment plant (STP) which processes waste water and other effluents from its units and common areas and facilities into safe, odor-free that complies with DENR DAO 35 Inland Water effluent standards.
Another issue which arose with the recent floods was the garbage in drainage pipes and creeks which prevented the huge volume of rainfall from running through its natural course through creeks, rivers and the sea.
One Oasis Cagayan de Oro ensures that it will never happen within its community through the provision of a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). A MRF is a facility designed to efficiently sort and store recyclable materials (paper, tins, glass, plastic and the like) in an environmentally sound manner.
As a community by itself, One Oasis Cagayan de Oro’s MRF is a low cost, do-able approach which is not merely environmentally friendly, but makes good business sense. It segregates waste materials for disposal and those which are re-usable for resale or recycling, encouraging home owners to participate in keeping their community clean and sanitary.
Its MRF receives biodegradable waste for composting and mixed non-biodegradable wastes for final segregation, re-use and recycling, with each type of mixed waste collected from the source and transported to the MRF in separate containers.
This sorting strategy has proven to be effective in most communities that have established MRFs, as they have maintained a clean environment, as well as initiating business opportunities for buying and selling re-usable and recyclable materials. Not the least, it prevents garbage dislodged by floods and rains from clogging draining pipes and waterways.
Not only is the mounting problem of uncollected garbage addressed, other related issues such as the unpleasant odors which have plagued a number of subdivisions in the city, are also eliminated.
To learn more about One Oasis Cagayan de Oro’s eco-friendly features that make it a safer place for your home in this season of climate change, please visit Filinvest office at the ground floor, Bo’s Café Bldg., Don A. Velez St., 9000 Cagayan de Oro City or contact 0917-305-8888 or check its official page at facebook.com/oneoasis.cagayand
-30-