By Manny Balbin/Philippine News Agency
CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan — The moderate to heavy rains experienced in Bulacan for the past three days were not enough to raise the water elevation of Angat Dam.
Bulacan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head Liz Mungcal said based on their monitoring, the water level of Angat Dam as of 8 a.m. on Monday was at 158.71 meters compared to the 159.11 meters on Sunday and 159.43 meters on Saturday.
On the other hand, Ipo and Bustos Dams in Bulacan registered a minimal dip in their water elevations in the last three days.
Ipo Dam water level was monitored at 99.40 meters on Saturday, 99.36 meters on Sunday and 99.38 meters on Monday morning compared to its spilling level of 101.00 meters. On the other hand, Bustos Dam’s water level was constant at 15.10 meters on Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning.
Bulacan Vice Governor Wilhelmino Alvarado explained that Ipo Dam serves as a water reservoir for the two water concessionaires of the Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System while Bustos Dam regulates water release for the irrigation supply to Bulacan and some parts of Pampanga farmlands.
On the other hand, Bro. Martin Francisco, chairperson of the Sagip Sierra Madre Environmentalists Society Inc. based at the Punduhan ng mga Dumagat in Sitio Suha, Barangay San Mateo in the mountainous part of Norzagaray town in the Sierra Madre Mountain range, made several suggestions to prolong the water holding capacity of the Angat Dam water reservoir.
These include the promotion of forest protection, relocation to other areas of informal settlers, recognition of the certificate of ancestral domains of indigenous peoples, promotion of tribal-ecotourism, and stopping illegal logging operations, all inside the watershed areas.
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