Irrigation supply for Central Luzon farms Extended

BUSTOS, Bulacan, Philippines  – A request to extend water allocation for Bustos Dam for the irrigation needs for some farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga has been approved by the National Water Resources Board.

NWRB executive director Sevillo David Jr. said the agency granted the extended irrigation supply from Angat Dam to Bustos, allocating 10 cubic meters per second of water from May 1 to 15 and five cm/s from May 16 to 30.

Enrique Carlos, chief of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) office in Bulacan, said the scheduled irrigation allocation for Bulacan and Pampanga lapsed on April 30 even as there are still 5,000 hectares of farms with standing crops that need water.

The expiry prompted the NIA to request an extension in order to save the crops.

Aside from providing potable water to households in Metro Manila, Angat Dam supplies irrigation water to some farmlands in Central Luzon.

Maria Teresa Serra, manager of the flood forecasting and warning system division of the National Power Corp., said that Napocor manages the operation of Angat Dam.

Water allocation from Angat is evaluated by the Angat inter-agency technical working group and decided by the NWRB based on the condition of the dam, availability of water and the needs of all stakeholders, Serra said.