CEBU, Philippines - A lighting alarm system for Buhisan Dam is in the works and is aimed at being operational in at least three months, the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) yesterday revealed.
To provide precautionary warning to nearby residents, the alarm will be lighted green if water level reaches one meter away from the crest of the dam. Once the water reaches half a meter away from the crest, a yellow light will be turned on.
A red light accompanied by an alarm sound will be released once the water level has reached the crest, signaling an imminent overflow.
Still in the design stage, the alarm system will tap uninterrupted power supply to remain functional even with power outage, assistant general manager Ernie Delco said.
The design is set to be done in two weeks and the next step is the approval of the MCWD board. Once approved, purchase of materials will follow.
Delco assured that purchase will not take time since the materials to be used are locally available.
On the request of Buhisan residents and barangay council that water be released from the dam leaving only 3/4 of water level, Delco said they cannot afford to release about three meters of water as it might affect their production.
Moreover, he emphasized that the frequency of dam water overflow in a year is low considering only two incidents were recorded this year, first in July and another just this August 4. — (FREEMAN)