NORZAGARAY, Bulacan—Water elevation at the giant Angat Dam here breached its 210 meter spilling level at 1 p.m. on Sunday, but an official of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) said that they will not release water until it climbs to 212 meters.
“There is nothing to fear yet because we will not release water until the dam’s water elevation reaches 212 meters,” said Engineer Rodolfo German, manager of the Angat River Hydro-Electric Power Plant (ARHEPP) of the Napocor that manages the Angat Dam.
He said that Angat Dam can hold water up to 212 meters, but they are using the 210 meter spilling level in case there is an incoming typhoon that is expected to dump more water into the dam.
Records obtained from the ARHEPP on Sunday showed that water elevation at the dam is steadily climbing.
At 8 a.m. yesterday, ARHEPP recorded 209.91 meters water elevation, but by 1 p.m., records showed that it climbed to 210.08 meters, breaching the 210 meters spilling level.
As this developed, Gov. Joselito Mendoza led a team of experts and journalists to Angat Dam yesterday to investigate allegations that the dam’s dike have cracks and that it is sitting on a an active geological fault line.
“The experts will tell us what they know. I’m here just to allay fears brought by the news that the dam’s dike is cracked,” Mendoza said.
However, before a team of experts and journalists started the inspection, officials of the Napocor and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) made statement denying such allegations.
German along with Russell Rigor and Romualdo Beltran of the Napocor took turns denying that the 41-year old dam’s dike have cracks.
“Maybe, they just used the wrong word. There is no crack, but there is seepage on the dike,” said Jose Doredo, principal engineer of the MWSS.
The same was echoed by Beltran who said that “there is nothing to be afraid about it.” “We conduct regular inspection on the dam’s structure and haven’t seen any cracks.”
On the other hand, Rigor said there are signs of water seeping on the dam’s dike.
“If water coming out of the seepage showed discoloration and have pressure, that’s the time that there is danger,” he said.
With regards to the report of the MWSS that the dam is sitting on the west valley fault that stretches from Taal Lake to Angat River, Doredo said they are still studying it.
“There is nothing to fear yet because we will not release water until the dam’s water elevation reaches 212 meters,” said Engineer Rodolfo German, manager of the Angat River Hydro-Electric Power Plant (ARHEPP) of the Napocor that manages the Angat Dam.
He said that Angat Dam can hold water up to 212 meters, but they are using the 210 meter spilling level in case there is an incoming typhoon that is expected to dump more water into the dam.
Records obtained from the ARHEPP on Sunday showed that water elevation at the dam is steadily climbing.
At 8 a.m. yesterday, ARHEPP recorded 209.91 meters water elevation, but by 1 p.m., records showed that it climbed to 210.08 meters, breaching the 210 meters spilling level.
As this developed, Gov. Joselito Mendoza led a team of experts and journalists to Angat Dam yesterday to investigate allegations that the dam’s dike have cracks and that it is sitting on a an active geological fault line.
“The experts will tell us what they know. I’m here just to allay fears brought by the news that the dam’s dike is cracked,” Mendoza said.
However, before a team of experts and journalists started the inspection, officials of the Napocor and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) made statement denying such allegations.
German along with Russell Rigor and Romualdo Beltran of the Napocor took turns denying that the 41-year old dam’s dike have cracks.
“Maybe, they just used the wrong word. There is no crack, but there is seepage on the dike,” said Jose Doredo, principal engineer of the MWSS.
The same was echoed by Beltran who said that “there is nothing to be afraid about it.” “We conduct regular inspection on the dam’s structure and haven’t seen any cracks.”
On the other hand, Rigor said there are signs of water seeping on the dam’s dike.
“If water coming out of the seepage showed discoloration and have pressure, that’s the time that there is danger,” he said.
With regards to the report of the MWSS that the dam is sitting on the west valley fault that stretches from Taal Lake to Angat River, Doredo said they are still studying it.
