‘Maynilad should have its own dam’

It’s time for one of the water concessionaires servicing Metro Manila to have its own water reservoir to ease the burden on dams in Bulacan province.

According to Bulacan Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado and other officials, the move will also reduce the risk of a breakdown among the dams, which may lead to massive flooding in several towns in the province.

Sy-Alvarado and the provincial board discussed the option in an executive session last week in Bustos town after they learned that Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MWSI) has been operating without a water impounding facility.

The officials were told that Ipo Dam, which captures water discharged from Angat Dam, is required to keep its water level within 99 to 100 meters above sea level to ensure that MWSI services are not disrupted.

Because Ipo Dam is always filled to near capacity, further discharges from Angat Dam during strong typhoons end up going to Bustos Dam and low-lying communities, Sy-Alvarado said.

The officials were also told that the rubber components of Bustos Dam’s gate valves were already worn out.

To protect the equipment, Felix Robles, acting chief of the National Irrigation Authority’s water control coordinating unit, said the agency was forced to release 1,300 cubic meters per second (cms) of water at the height of Typhoon “Pedring” in October.

Strong rains spawned by the typhoon led to heavy flooding in several towns in Bulacan, killing 26 people and destroying crops and infrastructure worth P2 billion. Some, however, blamed the floods on the release of water from dams.

To protect its valves, Bustos Dam must discharge water at a faster pace once it captures water released by Angat and Ipo dams, Robles said, adding that broken valves would lead to bigger floods.

“The national government has to address these issues so we can finally solve the problem. We cannot allow the province to continue suffering floods,” Sy-Alvarado said.

“It is now apparent to us that national agencies act to relieve the dams of water without considering the impact on the communities. They don’t even pay their taxes here and yet they bring floods to Bulacan,” he added.