Bulacan wants CCTV cams installed to monitor floodwater, river rise

CITY OF MALOLOS—The Bulacan government will prioritize the installation of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras along critical areas of the Angat River, especially in areas near the spill gates of the Angat, Ipo and Bustos dams, to immediately warn residents of rising waters in the province’s waterways.

Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado, in a radio interview on Saturday, said images beamed by the CCTV cameras would help feed local officials and residents accurate and early information on water levels and on the release of dam waters so they could prepare for floods.

Alvarado said the provincial government is consulting with technicians who would set up the system at the operations center of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) office at the provincial capitol.

In an earlier interview, Felicisima Mungcal, PDRRMC executive director, said the Bulacan government, as early as September last year, had asked the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to put in place CCTV cameras along the Angat River. The request was reiterated by provincial officials in July.

Mungcal said the CCTV cameras would serve as flood forecasting devices that could help in the early detection of rising water in perennially flooded Bulacan.

She said the CCTV cameras would be placed at the Matictic Bridge in Norzagaray and at the Alejo Santos Bridge at the boundary of Bustos and Baliuag towns to augment the warning systems of the province’s dams.

Mungcal said the MWSS and personnel from its concessionaires, the Manila Water Company Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc., would help the province set up the CCTV cameras along the river.

Maynilad and Manila Water get their water supply from the Ipo Dam, which is fed by the Angat Dam in Barangay (village) San Lorenzo in Norzagaray.

Alvarado said a flood monitoring system using CCTV cameras would also be put up along the Sta. Maria River, which catches rainwater draining from Rizal, Quezon City and San Jose del Monte City.

Once water level at the Sta. Maria River rises, low-lying areas in the towns of Marilao, Bocaue, Obando, Balagtas, Guiguinto and Bulacan and the city of Meycauayan experience flooding, he said.

Mungcal said the PDRRMC relies on gauges installed at the foot of the Matictic Bridge, the Alejo Santos Bridge and Sta. Lucia Bridge (Angat) but these have not been enough in determining actual water volume, especially during heavy rains and typhoons.

The National Power Corp., which oversees the operations of the Angat Dam, uses sirens to warn riverside communities of water release. It takes 40 minutes for water released by Angat Dam to reach Ipo Dam and more than two hours to reach Matictic River.

With CCTV cameras in place, Mungcal said the PDRRMC could monitor water level and volume in real time and improve coordination with disaster-response agencies and local governments for evacuation of residents.

She said images captured by the CCTV cameras would be fed to screens in the PDRRMC office and in other major offices in the provincial capitol here.—Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon