MANILA, Philippines — Six control gates of four major dams in Luzon were opened to release water as they neared spilling levels, the state-run weather agency said on Tuesday.
Hydrologist Richard Orendain from the Hydrometeorology Division of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that as of 8 a.m., two gates of Ambuklao Dam in Bokod town were opened with an outflow of 153.58 centimeters (cms).
Pt2/news/nov2/011118_manggat2 Photo by: Dj Diosina Manggat Dam in Isabela
In Itogon, also in the same province, also two gates of Binga Dam were unlocked with an opening measured at 1.00 meter (m), he said.
Ambuklao’s reservoir water level (RWL) was at 751.58 m or just short of -0.42 m before reaching its normal high water level (NHWL) of 752.00 m or its spilling level.
Binga Dam’s RWL was measured at
574.70 m against its NHWL of 575.00 m or a deviation of -0.30 m, the weather bureau said.
Meanwhile, the San Roque Dam in Pangasinan province had one control gate opened with an outflow of 65.00 cms.
It is short of -1.70 m from its 280.00 m NHWL, the weather agency said.
One gate of Magat Dam in Isabela/Ifugao provinces was also unlocked with an outflow of 763.78 cms, Orendain said.
With 186.39 m RWL measured also at 8 a.m. Tuesday, it was only short of -6.61 m from its 193.00 m normal water or spilling level, he said.
The release of water was minimal and not directly affecting villages in the areas where the dams were located, Pagasa said.
It said that local governments and villages were always informed before the dams release excess water.
Meanwhile, Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan, the main source of water for Metro Manila and irrigation for its adjoining provinces, measured 201.73 m, still far from its spilling level of 210.00 m.
