Water at Angat Dam nears spilling level

CITY OF MALOLOS—The water level in Angat Dam is nearing spilling level, prompting provincial officials to renew their appeal to the authorities to change the protocol for managing water releases to prevent flooding.

Felicisima Mungcal, executive officer of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC), said Angat’s water level increased to 208.08 meters above sea level (masl) Friday due to sporadic rains. Angat’s spilling level is 210 masl.

Mungcal said the distribution of water contained by  Angat is managed by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) because the facility supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s drinking water.

The protocols require the NWRB to relinquish supervision over the dam’s water discharges to the National Power Corp. (Napocor) once the reservoir water breaches its critical level.

Slow coordination

But the process it takes to switch administrators has caused dams to overspill, flooding low-lying Bulacan towns, according to letters transmitted to the NWRB by provincial officials.

Mungcal cited last May’s Typhoon “Falcon,” which unleashed rains that breached Ipo Dam’s spilling levels. Since coordination was slow during the transition of control, the towns of Baliuag and Bustos town ended up flooded by the water discharge.

Ipo Dam is located below the Angat Dam. Angat water that is piped toward Metro Manila must first course through the Ipo Dam system.

Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado had been writing NWRB officials to change the protocol and allow Napocor to assume supervision over Angat Dam before its water reaches the critical level.

Since it is the Napocor team stationed at Angat Dam which could best assess the condition and elevation of the reservoir, Bulacan officials believe they can take necessary action that would not sacrifice residents’ safety, Mungcal said.

“They know when it rains over Angat Dam. They could quickly determine if water would rise quickly at the reservoir and breach the spilling level,” she said.

The Angat Hydroelectric Power Plant generates 246 megawatts of electricity for the Luzon power grid. But it is also designed as a flood control measure because it catches runoff rain water discharged from the Sierra Madre mountains.