Following the massive flooding in Cagayan, Isabela, Pampanga, Bulacan, Marikina, Rizal, and other parts of the country as Typhoon Ulysses struck, it was easy for everybody to blame the dams for the worst flooding in Luzon since Typhoon Ondoy. In Cagayan and Isabela, for example, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration gave a powerful description of the Magat Dam’s action: At its peak, the dam was releasing 6,706 cubic meters of water per second at maximum discharge. In a span of 11 hours, the dam released enough water to fill 106,223 Olympic-sized swimming pools, or about two pools per second.
Apart from the Magat Dam, six other dams in various parts of Luzon—Angat, Ipo, La Mesa, Ambuklao, Binga, and San Roque—reportedly caused the heavy flooding. No wonder some lawmakers are already itching to grill officials of agencies responsible for the release of water from these dams even before the floodwaters had a chance to recede. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said he and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian would question the dam operators, including the National Power Corp. (NPC) and the National Irrigation Administration, when their proposed 2021 budgets would be taken up in plenary.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año is proposing the establishment of standard protocols for the release of water from dams for better preparation and response during times of calamities. He said local chief executives have voiced concern that dam administrators have different protocols on the release of water. Año said standard protocols during times of calamities should be under the supervision of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
The NPC manages 22 dams all over the country and conducts semi-annual inspection to the five major dams in Luzon and seven dams in Mindanao to ensure their integrity and the safety of the people that live downstream of the dams. The agency also practices efficient reservoir management with partner agencies to help conserve water while optimizing water utilization.
All over the world, dams are built for their potential benefits, which include water supply, electricity generation, flood control, recreation and irrigation. When dams fill, they are designed to release the excess water into the river system they are built on, like the Cagayan River in the case of Magat Dam. The Cagayan River, known as Rio Grande de Cagayan, is the longest and largest river by discharge volume of water in the Philippines, with a total length of approximately 505 kilometers. The river has a drainage basin covering 27,753 square kilometers and flows north to its mouth at the Babuyan Channel near the town of Aparri. Given these facts, Cagayan province should be spared from floods. Remember that Magat Dam only released water enough to fill 106,223 Olympic-sized swimming pools. In the 1960s, Cagayan River can accommodate more than the water volume recently released by the Magat Dam. However, siltation and government neglect killed the river.
Here’s what the people need to know: Magat Dam is nearly 40 years old and has not been upgraded in decades. Logging operations helped destroy watershed areas near the dam that could help prevent denudation. Magat Dam would have collapsed under the deluge of Typhoon Ulysses if excess water was not released. The result would have been catastrophic.
We hope that the recent floods will finally bring about some real change.
Image credits: Hossein Lohinejadian | Dreamstime.com