'No need to rehabilitate Angat dam'

NORZAGARAY, Bulacan vv  – The 41-year-old Angat dam does not need any rehabilitation and it can last for another 60 years, officials said yesterday.

“There’s no rehabilitation needed yet for Angat Dam,” said Romualdo Beltran of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) which manages the dam.

He said they found no crack on the dikes of the reservoir that supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s potable water requirement.

Beltran noted they have been conducting periodic monitoring and assessment on the dam’s structure and assured the public that it remains safe.

Constructed in the early 1960s, Angat Dam was commissioned in 1968 to supply the water requirement of the growing population of Metro Manila which was then dependent on the Wawa Dam in Rizal for potable water.

Engineer Rodolfo German, manager of the Angat River Hydro Electric Power Plant (ARHEPP) of the Napocor, said there should be no cause for worry since the Angat Dam can last for another 60 years.

German explained that the dam is still structurally strong but its holding capacity has been reduced in 41 years of operation.

He said that siltation at the dam’s reservoir is approximately 20 meters deep based on annual half meter accumulation of silt.

“Based on our estimates, Angat’s reservoir is at least 50 meters deep from the river bed to the surface,” he said, noting that it can still hold enough water to meet the requirement of Metro Manila.

Earlier, the MWSS said there was a need for another water source for Metro Manila’s growing population and warned that there might be potable water shortage by 2015.

The MWSS pushed for the construction of the Laiban Dam in Rizal as proposed by the San Miguel Bulk Water Corp.

However, to justify the urgency of constructing the Laiban Dam, the MWSS claimed that Angat Dam is old, has cracks and is sitting on an active geological fault line.

This alarmed Bulacan officials led by Vice Gov. Willy Alvarado who vowed to push for the rehabilitation of Angat Dam rather than the construction of the Laiban Dam, which will cost $2 billion.

DSWD continues to provide relief assistance

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said yesterday it would continue to provide relief assistance to thousands of families affected by severe flooding in Central Luzon last week.

Social Welfare Undersecretary Alicia Bala said the DSWD has already provided P1-million worth of relief goods to 13,549 families affected by the flashfloods in the provinces of Zambales, Bataan and Pampanga due to heavy rains brought about by tropical depression “Maring.”

She said 12 evacuation centers have been set up in Botolan, Zambales and one in Mexico, Pampanga, serving some 2,171 families or 8,339 persons as of Sunday.

Meanwhile, the 11,378 families or 54,685 persons who opted to stay in the houses of their relatives and friends were also provided with relief assistance, Bala said. – With Helen Flores