SAN MANUEL, Pangasinan, Philippines — For the first time since its operations began in 2003, the water level at the San Roque multipurpose dam here on Monday and Tuesday breached its normal high water level of 280 meters above sea level (MASL).

But dam officials said there was no cause for alarm because the dam's reservoir is large enough to hold excess water.

"What you are seeing is the dam's flood control component at work," Tom Valdez, vice president for corporate social responsibility of the San Roque Multipurpose Project (SRMP), said.

The dam's water level on Monday registered a record-high of 284.7 MASL, which was 5.3 meters from its maximum level of 290 MASL. At 6 a.m. Tuesday, the water level reached 285.4 MASL.

"We have not opened our spillway gates yet. But our people no longer sleep because they are closely watching it," Valdez said.

Aside from capturing run-off water from the Cordillera, the dam also catches excess water released by the Ambuklao and Binga hydroelectric dams, which are in the upstream of the Agno River in Benguet.

If the dam opens its spillway gates, excess water will flow to the Agno River, causing it to swell, flooding at least 16 Pangasinan towns and cities along its banks.

But Valdez said before his agency decides to release water, there are several factors they will have to consider.

"If the rains continue and we get about 60 millimeters of rain, we begin to think. If the weather condition does not improve, we also have to think," he said.

According to the SRMP website, the dam's reservoir has a holding capacity of 835 million cubic meters of water.

"From 280 MASL to 290 MASL, the volume of water is about 140 million cubic meters," said Alexander Palada of the flood forecasting and warning system for dam operations of National Power Corp.

He said the dam captured about 69 million cubic meters of rains dumped by Typhoon "Pepeng" when it hit northeastern Luzon provinces on Saturday.

"This was a lot lower than the 144 cubic meters volume of rain water captured by the dam when [Typhoon] "Kiko" hit northern Luzon in August," Palada said.

Last month, Valdez also assuaged Pangasinan residents’ fears of a dam break that could flood many towns.

"That is very remote," Valdez said during a forum in Dagupan City.

Valdez said a dam break scenario may only happen if the following occur at the same time: A 9.5-magnitude earthquake, the dam is full to the brim and the dam's foundation is damaged because of terrorist attacks.

He said security remains tight at the facility.

Valdez also said an emergency action plan has been prepared for a worst-case scenario, including full coordination with the provincial disaster coordinating council and the municipal and barangay (village) disaster councils.