MALOLOS CITY, Bulacan, (PNA) — Mayor Christian D. Natividad on Sunday disclosed that many areas in this historic capital city is fast becoming the catch basin of water being discharged by the three big dams in the province, particularly Bustos dam.
Natividad lamented the fact that every time the Bustos dam as well as Ipo and Angat dams released big volumes of excess water from their reservoirs, the coastal towns of Calumpit and Hagonoy were the ones being tagged as catch basin.
“”It has been a long time that many parts of Malolos City submerged to floodwater every time the Bustos dam released waters. However, the media is only focused with the towns of Hagonoy and Calumpit,” Natividad said.
He said that every time that Bustos dam releases 500 cubic per second of water, at least 47 villages in this capital city are submerged under two to four feet of rampaging floodwaters.
Natividad said that that many areas in this city were former ricefield with irrigation canals in which the waters from the dams flows.
Earlier, Governor Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado,together with disaster control officials and Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System administrator Gerry Esquivel, met with operators and engineers of Angat, Ipo and Bustos dams after the water elevation at Angat dam breached the 200 meters mark early this month.
The meeting was called when the Angat dam climbed to 203.56 meters, almost five meters from reaching its spilling level of 210 meters about a week ago.
“The 203 meters water elevation at Angat dam is worrisome because before the southwest monsoon came the water elevation was only 193 meters but it suddenly climbed-up to 203 meters. Another surge of intensive rainfall could spell doom in the low-lying towns like Hagonoy and Calumpit as well as the city of Malolos because they will be forced again to discharge their excess water,” Alvarado explained.
The governor urged Engr. Precioso Donato Punzalan, assistant operation engineer of Bustos Dam, to conduct preemptive release so that when the water level at Angat dam breached its spilling level, Bustos dam will have extra room in its water holding capacity.
He also told Punzalan to do the preemptive release during good weather condition and when there is a storm or rainy weather.
He also suggested to operators of Ipo dam to divide the release of its excess water, one should flow to la Mesa dam reservoir and the other at Bustos dam every rainy or stormy weather.
He said that the releasing of waters from the three dams should be properly coordinated.