Benguet dams open spillway gates

Ambuklao Dam, one of the oldest hydropower facilities in the country (INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON)

DAGUPAN CITY—The Ambuklao and Binga hydroelectric dams in Benguet province on Saturday opened their spillway gates due to heavy rains in the Cordillera Mountains, a National Power Corp. (Napocor) official said.

Virgilio Garcia, Napocor hydrologist, said both dams opened one spillway gate each at half-meter at 5 p.m. and released water at the rate of 65 cubic meters per second.

A cubic meter of water is about 1,000 liters or about 5 drums of water.

At 2 p.m., Ambuklao’s reservoir had a water elevation of 751.77 meters above sea level (masl), which was 23 centimeters (cm) from its spilling level of 752 masl.

Binga’s water level was 574.04 masl. The dam’s spilling level is 575 masl.

Water released by the Ambuklao is collected at the Binga dam below it, while the water spilled by Binga is caught by the San Roque Dam, which is downstream of the Agno River in San Manuel town in Pangasinan province.

At 2 p.m., the water level at the San Roque dam reservoir was 274.83 masl, 5.17 meters below its high level of 280 masl. The dam can accommodate water up to 290 masl.

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