Magat irrigation might stop earlier than March 21, official says

Unless it rains soon, the Magat dam might have to shut down its irrigation gates starting next week, a dam official said on Wednesday. Saturnino Tenedor of the Magat Dam’s irrigation department told GMANews.TV that the water reserves dropped further to 153.32 meters as of 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, about three meters above the 150-meter very critical level. He said once the water level reaches 150 meters, operators will have no recourse but to stop providing irrigation water. His statement came following forecasts of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) that the El Niño phenomenon could extend beyond June. The dam’s normal level is at 183 meters, while its minimum operating level is at 160 meters. Tenedor earlier said that they were planning to shut down the irrigation gates on March 21. But given the daily half-a-meter water decrease, they might implement the closure six days from now. The 30-year-old Magat Dam, once Asia’s biggest, is the source of water for some 85,000 hectares of agricultural lands in Cagayan Valley. It also generates hydroelectric power, which it supplies to the Luzon grid. Dam officials, on the other hand, assured consumers that despite the rotating brownouts in the region, there is still enough power. Lawyer Mike Osillos, spokesman of SN-Aboitiz Power (Snap-Magat) also clarified that the possible closure of the dam’s irrigation facilities has nothing to do with its power generation. Magat Dam is being managed by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) while Snap-Magat operates as a seller of energy generated by the plant to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). Besides Isabela, the provinces of Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino, which comprises mainland Cagayan Valley, whose combined corn and rice output represents at least 30 percent of the country’s yearly yields, are already under a state of calamity. Other drought-hit areas in the country include Ifugao, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Laguna, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan, Masbate, Antique, Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Davao del Sur, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Basilan.—Floro Taguinod/JV, GMANews.TV