Angat Dam review starts; Isabela plans more reservoirs

CITY OF MALOLOS, Philippines—Officials in Bulacan and Isabela have started to evaluate the floods that crippled their provinces in October and early this month.

Bulacan launched on Wednesday a six-month study that would determine the stability and strength of the 43-year-old Angat Dam, a major supplier of water for Metro Manila and irrigation water for Central Luzon farms.

In a conference in Isabela on Tuesday, Governor Faustino Dy III proposed the construction of at least three more water reservoirs or dams and additional irrigation canals in strategic areas in Isabela to augment Magat Dam’s role in minimizing flooding there.

The initiatives were undertaken in the wake of flooding in some areas in Bulacan, Pampanga and Aurora due to the strong rains on November 5 and 6.

The floods have subsided in most villages in Bulacan, particularly in San Miguel town, but more areas have been advised to remain on alert, reports showed.

As of Wednesday, only Barangay Mandile in San Miguel was under two feet of water that apparently spilled from the Candaba swamp in Pampanga, according to Nigel Lontoc, Central Luzon assistant director of the Office of the Civil Defense.

The swamp impounds water flowing from the Pampanga River, into which drains 30 river systems in Central Luzon’s eastern flank. Some farms in the Candaba area within the wetlands also remain flooded, Lontoc said.

This happened as water levels at the Candaba station breached the five-meter alert level, according to the latest advisory of the Pampanga River Flood Forecasting and Warning System (PRFFWC).

A shallow low pressure area hovered over Luzon, bringing rains since Friday, the weather bureau said.

Hagonoy and Paombong suffered coastal flooding, the PRFFWC said.

In Aurora, flashfloods hit the capital town of Baler.

The PRFFWC warned that flooding was possible in San Luis, Arayat, San Simon towns in Pampanga, San Antonio and Zaragoza in Nueva Ecija and La Paz in Tarlac because water levels in those parts of the Pampanga River rose near alert levels.

Fears of future floods could be eased when government pursues studies of the dams, said Bulacan Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado.

Rodolfo German, general manager of the National Power Corporation’s Angat River hydro electric power plant, said the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities (Psalm) tapped New Zealand-based consultant Tonkin and Taylor, and the Engineering Development Corp. (EDCOP), to evaluate Angat Dam, using a P33-million fund.

The dam is located at Hilltop in Barangay San Lorenzo in Norzagaray,  about 60 km east of Malolos City.

At the foot of the Angat reservoir lies Ipo Dam, which discharges water to the La Mesa Dam (Metro Manila’s potable water source), and Bustos Dam, which releases irrigation water to Bulacan and Pampanga farms.

German said the government has reserved P1.6 billion for possible repair work on Angat if the study warrants it.

In Isabela, Dy’s proposal to build new impounding facilities was meant to check the impact of the Cagayan River on low-lying farms of that province.

Building new dams “will surely have a positive impact on farmers. The money to be invested will be offset in the long run,” he said.

The conference was organized by the province to finalize action plans drawn up to respond to extreme weather patterns.

For example, experts have suggested adjusting the irrigation schedules of Magat Dam, now that the monsoon period appears  to have moved based on the this year’s rainfall trend, Dy said.

Magat Dam officials  who attended the conference  said they have instituted water conservation measures in areas serviced by the dam despite the longer monsoon period.

Among these measures are the gradual reduction of weekly irrigation water releases during summer, employing proper canal clearing and maintenance, strict monitoring of irrigation water distribution, and massive information drive to educate farmers about the conservation program.

Also raised at the conference was the option to dredge some of the major rivers in Cagayan Valley like the Cagayan, Pinacanauan and Magat rivers, because siltation has disturbed the flow of these rivers.

Reports from Carmela Reyes-Estrope and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon, and Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon