San Roque water level still low
Repeat of 2009 flooding nil
THE victims of Typhoon Pepeng last year need not fear about a possible repeat this year of last year’s deadly flooding as a consequence of huge water releases from the San Roque Dam.
This assessment was gleaned from the present the water elevation of 251.49 meters above sea level (masl) at the San Roque dam at, barely above the low critical level set at 225 masl.
Officials do not expect the dam to get filled for the rest of the year given rainfall forecasts and are instead already discussing water allocation strategies for power generation, irrigation and household use.
“Hindi mapupuno ang dam ngayon kahit ganon katindi ang ulan na darating,” said Tommy Valdez, vice-president for corporate responsibility of the San Roque Power Corporation.
In contrast, the San Roque dam overflowed last year as it was already at the high critical level when Typhoon Pepeng hit Luzon in October, causing massive flooding in Pangasinan.
Valdez said the current 251.49 masl level is not enough to meet both the power generation and irrigation needs until the next rainy season. The ideal level is 280 masl.
Meanwhile, Engineer Virgilio Garcia of the National Power Corporation, who heads the flood forecasting and warning system for dam operations, said the ongoing talks is focused on which segment — whether power, irrigation or household use — will be given priority.
“Dapat talaga pagtuunan ito ng pansin dahil sa kakulangan ng tubig sa ating mga dam ngayon,” Garcia said in a radio interview.
NEW RESERVOIRS
Valdez, who was present during the same interview, also proposed that a series of impounding dams along the Ambayaoan River may help in preserving water for irrigation purposes.
He said the river, which he noted has a watershed bigger than that of the Agno River, may complement the Agno River in providing irrigation needs of farmers from Pangasinan by having a series of reservoirs.
The Ambayaoan, Dipalo-Viray and Banila are the river tributaries in the eastern corridor that connect to the Agno River, which in turn empties into the Lingayen Gulf.
Tapping these river systems for irrigation purposes will help Pangasinan farmers, who Valdez said, have been accustomed to having up to three cropping seasons because of irrigation waters from the San Roque dam.
A P4-billion re-regulating pond for irrigation is currently being constructed downstream, about a kilometer away from the dam.
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