DAM INSPECTION. Bulacan Governor Daniel R. Fernando (center) talks with Larry Ballesteros (right), manager of National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Bulacan, about the installation of coffer dam using steel sheets and sand bags at Bay 5 of Bustos Dam during monitoring and inspection on Thursday (July 29, 2020) Also in photo are Liz Mungcal, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office chief,and Engr. Glen Reyes of the Provincial Engineering Office. (Photo by Manny Balbin)
BUSTOS, Bulacan – Governor Daniel R. Fernando has endorsed to the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) the potential use of "green" or environmentally sustainable technologies that would enhance the capacity of Bustos Dam, similar to those used in developed countries, where dams are built to last for a hundred years and more.
This was disclosed by the governor following his monitoring and inspection of the installation of the coffer dam using steel sheets and sand bags, the remedial measure undertaken by the contractor on the rubber gate at Bay 5 of Bustos Dam located in Barangay Tibagan, Bustos town, this province on Thursday morning.
"Ang mahalaga kasi dito mapabuti ang sitwasyon ng Bustos Dam para hindi makaapekto sa mga tao, sa mga Bulakenyo. Binibigyan po natin ito ng pagsubaybay. Gusto kong bigyan ng positibong pananaw ang mga tao na ‘wag silang matakot, gusto ko silang bigyan ng assurance through sustained action and monitoring na tayo ay nakabantay sa kanilang kaligtasan sa lahat ng sandali. (What is important here is for the Bustos Dam to be in good condition so that it will not cause fear to the people, to the Bulakenyos. We are monitoring this. I want to give the people a positive perspective that they should not be afraid. I want to give them assurance through sustained action and monitoring, that we are on guard of their safety at all times)," he said in a media interview.
Fernando said even if only one of the six rubber gates collapsed, he is consistently coordinating with NIA and pushing for the rehabilitation of all the rubber bladders using quality materials, which the provincial government of Bulacan, the NIA, and the contractor have agreed to.
NIA’s Design and Specifications Division, for its part, expressed gratitude for the governor’s initiative in considering new technologies to ensure that dam construction and repairs meet the stringent requirements of safety.
Two years after its rehabilitation, the rubber gate on Bay 5 of Bustos Dam collapsed on the first week of May this year.
The provincial government, in close coordination with NIA and other concerned agencies, immediately implemented remedial measures but actual replacement of rubber gate No. 5 will be in November or December of this year.
Meanwhile, Liz Mungcal, chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO), said the water elevation of Angat Dam is slowly sliding down towards its minimum operating level of 180 meters.
PDRRMO data showed that as of 8 a.m. on Thursday, the water level of Angat Dam was at 180.94 meters.
On the other hand, Bustos Dam, which is located downstream of Angat Dam, had reached its spilling level of 17.34 meters during the past several days but was monitored at 17.14 meters on Thursday morning.
Previously, the spilling level of Bustos Dam was half-a-meter higher but when its Rubber Gate No. 5 collapsed on May 5 and rehabilitations works were implemented, its spilling level was lowered to the 17-meter mark to lessen the water tension on the other five rubber gates. (PNA)
