San Roque, Magat dams to release water

Manila: Spillway gates of San Roque and Magat dams will be opened on Wednesday as Tropical Storm Kristine continues to batter parts of the country with heavy rainfall. The National Power Corporation (Napocor) said San Roque's reservoir elevation needs to be lowered in anticipation of heavy inflow due to Kristine. As of 8 a.m., the dam's water level reached 275.98 m., still below its normal level of 280 m. Napocor said San Roque's Gate 2A will be opened at 0.5 m., with an estimated discharge of 53 cubic meters per second (cms). Meanwhile, as of 9 a.m., Magat Dam's water level reached 182.28 m., below its 193 m. normal level. Magat Dam's is measured at 194.33 cms, while the total outflow stands at 399.50 cms. One spillway gate of Magat Dam was opened at 1 m., releasing an additional 132 cms of water into the river. "The public, especially those in downstream areas, are advised to stay updated and take necessary precautions as water levels are being managed to ensure safety amid ongoing weather conditions ," the Magat Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) was quoted as saying. The total discharge to the river system, combining spillway and HPP outflows, is recorded at 206.90 cms, the report added. As for the other dams, La Mesa's water level measured 79.50 m., less than a meter from its spilling level of 80.15 m. The other dams water levels and their normal levels are Angat 197.63 m. (210 m.); Ipo 100.80 m. (101.10 m.); Ambuklao 748.89 m. (752 m.); Binga 573 m. (575 m.); Pantabangan 205.30 m. (216 m.) and Caliraya 287.11 m. (288 m.). Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said in anticipation of the spilling operation of San Roque Dam, the NPC issued the notice on preparatory phase of dam discharge warning operation 24 hours before gate opening to the Office of Civil Defense in Region 1 and to the provincial and municipal Risk Reduction Management Offices of Pangasinan. "This is to advise them to be on alert and take the necessary preparatory measures for the possible spilling operation of San Roque Dam," Lotilla sai d. For Binga Dam spilling operations, the notice on dam discharge warning operation was issued at 9 a.m. of Oct. 22 or six hours before gate opening at 3 p.m. "These are in consonance with the amendment of NPC dam protocols where the notification period for the initiation of preparatory measures for spilling operation at San Roque Dam is 24 hours and for Binga Dam it is 4 hours," he said. Other NPC dams such as the Angat and Caliraya are not expected to spill since water level are low in Angat and rain band of typhoon Kristine is veering away these areas, Lotilla said. Source: Philippines News Agency