Bulacan towns, city alerted of river surge as Ipo dam spills water

OVERFLOW The water level in Bulacan’s Ipo Dam, seen in this photo taken in June last year, reaches the critical mark on Friday, forcing its operator to release excess water. Two other dams in the province — Angat and Bustos — have also been discharging water since Monday. — Photo by Carmela Reyes-Estrope

CITY OF MALOLOS — Officials in one city and 10 municipalities in Bulacan province alerted their respective residents living in low-lying areas of possible surges of their rivers after Ipo dam on Saturday breached its spilling level and started to discharge water.

Manuel Kukban Jr., head of the Bulacan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO), said that at 3 p.m., Ipo Dam started to release 103.25 cubic meter per second (cms) of volume of water after it’s elevation reached 101.56 meters, breaching its 101-meter spilling level.

Rains brought by Severe Tropical Storm Crising combined with the effects of the southwest monsoon or “habagat” caused the water level at Ipo dam to surge.

Located in Norzagaray town, Ipo Dam, which is some seven kilometers downstream of Angat Dam, is an impounding reservoir and a major provider of water supply for Metro Manila.

The PDRRMO has earlier issued an alert for river surges in the City of Baliwag and the municipalities of Norzagaray, Angat, Bustos, San Rafael, Plaridel, Pulilan, Calumpit, Hagonoy, and Paombong.

Baliwag Mayor Sonia Estrella strictly prohibited residents from going to the city’s river to swim. She alerted village officials to enforce a strict river watch in their respective areas.

Estrella also urged residents to continue to monitor weather updates.

Angat Dam’s level also rose due to the heavy downpour from 191.88 meters above sea level on Friday to 192.10 on Saturday. However, it is still 22 meters below the 214.00 masl high water elevation.

The high tide at 2.65 feet that occured at 4:32 a.m. could also cause floods, the PDRRMO reported. /das