ANGELES CITY – The administrator of the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) said yesterday that the Pantabangan Dam, which can hold 1.75 billion cubic meters of water for irrigation and power generation, is capable of withstanding an Intensity 10 earthquake.
NIA administrator Antonio Nangel said that the dam, whose reservoir covers 8,420 hectares, has continued to provide irrigation to over 100,000 hectares of farmlands in Central Luzon.
He said that while Pantabangan Dam is largely earthen, it was designed to survive the power of the earthquake that devastated northeastern Japan last March 11.
Nangel made this assurance amid fears from folk in towns near the dam, following the recent calamity caused by both earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Pantabangan dam, whose construction was finished in 1974, is centrally located at the center of the Carranglan, Pantabangan and Pampanga Rivers.
Nangel noted that Pantabangan dam withstood the powerful earthquake on July 16, 1990 with no damage at all. This, despite a faultline in nearby Carranglan in Nueva Ecija, although the quake, which was at Intensity 7.7, caused changes in the flow of water downstream Digdig and Talavera rivers that reduced irrigation water irrigation coverage from the Talavera Irrigation System from 6,000 hectares to only 500.
He described the dam as the first single largest infrastructure ever built by the government, noting that it has continued to supply irrigation to over 100,000 hectares of farmlands in Central Luzon.
He said the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System’s dam and reservoir division takes care of the maintenance of the dam and manages the release of water from it.
The Pantabangan dam consists of the main dam and the Aya dam area which have a water storage capacity of 1.75 billion cubic meters for irrigation and power generation. Its watershed area covers 90,900hectares.
NIA administrator Antonio Nangel said that the dam, whose reservoir covers 8,420 hectares, has continued to provide irrigation to over 100,000 hectares of farmlands in Central Luzon.
He said that while Pantabangan Dam is largely earthen, it was designed to survive the power of the earthquake that devastated northeastern Japan last March 11.
Nangel made this assurance amid fears from folk in towns near the dam, following the recent calamity caused by both earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Pantabangan dam, whose construction was finished in 1974, is centrally located at the center of the Carranglan, Pantabangan and Pampanga Rivers.
Nangel noted that Pantabangan dam withstood the powerful earthquake on July 16, 1990 with no damage at all. This, despite a faultline in nearby Carranglan in Nueva Ecija, although the quake, which was at Intensity 7.7, caused changes in the flow of water downstream Digdig and Talavera rivers that reduced irrigation water irrigation coverage from the Talavera Irrigation System from 6,000 hectares to only 500.
He described the dam as the first single largest infrastructure ever built by the government, noting that it has continued to supply irrigation to over 100,000 hectares of farmlands in Central Luzon.
He said the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System’s dam and reservoir division takes care of the maintenance of the dam and manages the release of water from it.
The Pantabangan dam consists of the main dam and the Aya dam area which have a water storage capacity of 1.75 billion cubic meters for irrigation and power generation. Its watershed area covers 90,900hectares.
