Farmers worry about San Roque dam’s low water level
RICE SECOND CROPPING
SAN MANUEL – Farmers in the lowland area who planted rice for their second cropping season have expressed fears that the reported low water level at the San Roque dam here will not provide them enough irrigation.
Tom Valdez, vice president for corporate affairs of the San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC), that operates the dam, said while the water level of the dam reservoir today is 271.94 meters above sea level (masl), nine meters lower than the dam normal water level at 280 masl., the possibility of farms going dry in the lowlands of Pangasinan downstream of the Agno River is remote.
He said the drop in the water level was expected at this period of the year because of the scanty rainfall in the Upper Agno River basin during the past weeks.
It is the water impounded from the reservoir of San Roque dam that turns the turbines of the dam to generate electric power for the Luzon Grid.
The water coming out from the plant while it is generating power is the one flowing downstream of the Agno river and into irrigation canals.
Valdez assured that power is not a problem at this time because San Roque is producing 115 megawatts during its peak hours of operations.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist has called on farmers to plant short-maturing cash crops or crops that need only little water to grow, like corn, legumes and vegetables in anticipation a possible water shortage during the summer season. (Leonardo Micua)
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