STILL OK FOR IRRIGATION, POWER

HERE we go again but still nothing to be alarmed about.

Due to the intense summer heat, water level at the San Roque Dam located in San Manuel and San Nicolas towns in Pangasinan and in Itogon in Benguet is already lower by 7.29 meters on its rule curve.

Tommy Valdez, San Roque Power Corporation Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility, said Thursday the situation is still manageable and can provide water for farmers’ irrigation until the second week of May.

He said the lower level is not a problem even if the dam level as of  Wednesday, March 30, m. was 236.66 meters above sea level (masl). The rule curve should be 243 masl.

Rule curve shows the level at which San Roque Dam’s water must be maintained so it can supply water for irrigation and power generation.

The San Roque Dam provides year-round irrigation to 21,000 hectares of farmlands in Pangasinan with the completion of the Agno River Integrated Irrigation Project of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

He added that they are closely coordinating with the NIA on the status of the water level.

Valdez said the gradual lowering of their water level was observed since January.

Despite the decrease, the dam’s power generation also remains steady because it can still deliver its contracted capacity of 115 megawatts eight hours a day.

Valdez explained that with the 115 megawatts, the water discharged from the dam will be sufficient for the daily requirement for irrigation.

He said cloud seeding is not yet an option but doing some traditional Filipino and Japanese rituals for possible rainfall may help. (Eva Visperas)

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