Assessing flood mitigation strategies for the university of the Philippines Rural High School through hydrological modeling of drainage systems

Date

5-2026

Adviser

Angelie M. Pasicolan

Co-adviser

Job Jonas C. Ruzgal

Principal

Buela, Mabel S.

Abstract

Flooding poses several challenges to educational institutions in the Philippines, particularly in areas frequently hit by seasonal typhoons. The University of the Philippines Rural High School (UPRHS), located in Bay, Laguna, has experienced flooding that affects academic operations, damages property, and compromises the safety of students and faculty. Despite this, the school’s drainage systems remain unstudied, leaving schools without research-based guidance for flood mitigation. This study conducted an assessment of the flood mitigation strategies through hydrological modeling. Watershed delineation was performed using HEC-HMS, while QGIS was used to characterize and classify subbasin parameters through rasterization of land cover, soil type, and slope data. These parameters were applied to model the infiltration and runoff within each UPRHS subcatchment. Rainfall and evapotranspiration data were obtained from the National Agromet Station at UPLB. The EPA Storm Water Management Model (SWMM v.5.2.4) was then ued to simulate drainage performance and produce the final outputs. The school’s flooding susceptibility was determined through calculated peak discharge across subcatchments. The generated runoff coefficients ranged from 0.231 to 0.532. These values are relatively high, indicating tha the majority of the rainfall is converted into surface runoff. Through the rational equation Q = CiA, peak discharge Q ranged from 0.0059667 m3

/s to 0.075075 m3

/s. With the bioretention cells intervention, the calculated peak discharge was reduced, with the percent reduction ranging from 23.94% to 50.99%. These findings demonstrate that localized hydrological modeling can serve as a tool for disaster risk reduction in school communities. Future studies are recommended to validate simulation outputs through field observations, conduct hydraulic simulation, and to explore green-grey infrastructure interventions suited to the UPRHS campus context.

Language

English

Location

UP Rural High School

Document Type

Capstone

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