CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines – The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has again stopped releasing water from the Pantabangan Dam, although its water level climbed to almost 180 meters yesterday.
The dam’s water level was at 179.04 meters as of yesterday, according to Josephine Salazar, operations manager of the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (UPRIIS).
The water level was 7.54 meters higher than the critical level of 171.5 meters and just two meters above the minimum power generation requirement of First Gen Corp.
The UPRIIS has programmed for irrigation 114,026 hectares for the twin cropping seasons, up by 2,772 hectares from last year’s 111,254.
Cristino Castillo, chief of the UPRIIS’ dam and reservoir division, said they expect to store sufficient water in the reservoir for irrigation.