More rains needed for Magat Dam

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – The water elevation at Magat Dam, the second biggest power provider among hydro dams in Luzon, continuous to rise, although more rains are needed to restore it to normal level.

As of noon yesterday, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said the dam’s water elevation climbed to 165.55 meters, or more than five meters than last Wednesday’s 160.46 meters, but was less than a meter above the 160-meter critical level.

NIA engineer Saturnino Tenedor, the dam’s instrumentation and forecasting officer, said yesterday’s water level is still way below the normal 175 meters for the dam to maximize its operational capacity to provide power and irrigation.

Besides the late afternoon rainfall since Wednesday, authorities attributed the increase in the water level to the inflow of water dumped by Typhoon Glenda on the dam’s major watersheds here and in Ifugao province last week.

“The dam’s water is still within the critical level. We need more rains so we can adequately supply the irrigation requirements of our farmers,” Tenedor said.

The dam, located at the Isabela-Ifugao boundary, irrigates at least 80,000 hectares of farmlands in Isabela and parts of Cagayan and Quirino. 

The NIA’s Magat River Integrated Irrigation System earlier had to supply irrigation on rotational basis due to the dam’s dwindling water reserves.

The dam also generates at least 380 megawatts of electricity for the Luzon grid.