Quezon City is turning open spaces into working flood-control infrastructure, as the newly inaugurated Quezon Memorial Circle (QMC) Open Field and the Quezon City Hall lagoon help absorb and store excess rainwater during the rainy season.
The 12,000-square-meter QMC Open Field is more than a new destination for sports, recreation, glamping, and community activities. At its center is a retention pond, detention tank, and basin designed to collect excess floodwater from the park and portions of the adjacent Elliptical Road.
Together, these facilities can store up to 1,119.5 cubic meters of water—the equivalent of approximately 5,597 commonly used blue drums—helping reduce the volume and speed of stormwater flowing into surrounding drainage systems.
The open field also features an outdoor amphitheater, a scenic walking path overlooking the Quezon Memorial Pylon, and a wide green area that allows rainwater to be absorbed naturally into the ground.
“It is also about creating more spaces that can hold, absorb, and manage water before it overwhelms our communities.”
“Flood control is not only about building bigger and harder infrastructure. It is also about creating more spaces that can hold, absorb, and manage water before it overwhelms our communities,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
The Quezon City Government is likewise using the massive lagoon within the City Hall complex as a retention pond. It can store approximately 13,050 cubic meters of rainwater, equivalent to more than five Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The collected and filtered rainwater is reused for the City’s greening initiatives and for toilet flushing in city-owned facilities, helping conserve potable water while reducing runoff.
“These projects are part of the City’s continuing investment in the QC Drainage Master Plan.”
“These projects are part of the City’s continuing investment in the QC Drainage Master Plan—to protect residents and businesses, reduce flooding, and make our city safer and more climate-resilient,” Belmonte explained.
During recent periods of heavy rain, the City Government observed reduced flooding along portions of the Elliptical Road, where the QMC retention pond helps manage and temporarily store excess stormwater.
Together, the QMC Open Field and City Hall lagoon demonstrate how parks, ponds, and other green spaces can serve a dual purpose: providing residents with places to gather, exercise, and relax while also functioning as nature-based solutions to urban flooding.
For Quezon City, every park can be part of the flood-control system—and every drop of rainwater managed before it becomes a flood is a step toward a safer, greener, and more resilient city.
