5 dams near spilling levels

La Mesa Dam. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Five major dams in Luzon were less than half a meter from their respective spilling levels Monday morning as tropical storm “Gener” continues to bring rains to the country.

Water level in the Ipo dam was 100.66 meters, just 0.14 meters below its spilling level of 100.8 meters, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration (Pagasa) said in its 6 am monitoring report.

Ipo dam, located in Norzagaray, Bulacan north of Metro Manila, had already opened one of its gates at .5 meters to release water which will go into the La Mesa dam.

But as of 7:15a.m., Ipo dam management closed its slush gates and was no longer releasing water, Pagasa said.

The La Mesa dam’s water level was at 79.85 meters, just .30 meters below its spilling level of 80.15 meters. It had already raised a red alert Sunday evening for possible evacuation of residents downstream.

The continuing rise of water will cause it to overflow and affect low-lying areas along Tullahan River, Fairview, Novaliches and Camanava area, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

La Mesa dam has no gates to release its water.

The water level of Magat dam, located at the boundary of Ifugao and Isabela provinces, was 189.68 meters, just .32 meters below its spilling level of 190 meters. Magat dam is on the Magat River, the largest tributary of the Cagayan River.

Pagasa said La Mesa dam in Quezon City and Magat dam in Cagayan remained on red alert level Monday as water continues to rise due to rains.

Binga Dam in Benguet province recorded a water level of 574.63 meters, just .37 meters below its spilling level of 575 meters. Binga dam sits downstream from the Ambuklao dam which was still 1.95 meters below its spilling level.

Caliraya dam, in Lumban, Laguna province, registered a water level of 287.57 meters, just .43 meters below its spilling level of 288 meters.

Tropical Storm “Gener” was estimated to be 330 kilometers east northeast of Aparri, Cagayan with an estimated 12 to 25 millimeters (heavy to intense) of rainfall around the 700 kilometer diameter of the storm.

Originally posted at 07:47 am | Monday, July 30, 2012