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Magat Dam. Image of the website of the National Irrigation Administration – MARIIS
MANILA, Philippines – Flood control is not among the purposes of the Magat dam construction, as it was originally designed for irrigation, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) clarified Tuesday.
NIA Administrator Ricardo Visaya issued the clarification during the House Joint Panel’s investigation into the massive flooding in Cagayan and Isabela provinces and other locations during Typhoon Ulysses.
During the hearing, the representative of Marikina Stella Quimbo asked NIA how it distributes the carrying capacity of said dam, considering that it has contradictory objectives: supply of energy and water and flood control.
“How do you distribute your cargo capacity according to those three goals? Paano ninyo kino-consider yan kasi you supply water to a private company but, on the other hand, mayroon kayong’s public objective is to control floods ”. she asked.
“Unfortunately, there is no inconsistent yung engineering,” added Quimbo.
In response, Visaya said that Magat Dam has no flood control function.
“Wala pong ‘yan function [Magat Dam] flood control; it is only for irrigation. There is no flood control, ”Visaya said.
Despite this, Visaya said NIA is still trying to mitigate flooding.
“What we are doing there in the Magat dam, when Pagasa advises, we will make sure that somehow it can absorb [ng tubig],” he said.
However, Magat Dam would still need to release water before it reaches the dam threshold of 193 meters.
Some local officials have pointed the finger at the NIA’s decision to discharge water from the Magat Dam as the cause of the massive flooding in many areas of the Cagayan Valley region.
However, NIA insisted that the Magat dam is not the “main cause” of the flooding in Cagayan, noting that it only contributes 15 percent of the entire Cagayan river basin.
EDV
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