Angat Dam shut off threatens to delay harvest, damage crops

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — The stoppage of water supply from the Angat Dam to some 27,000 farmlands in Pampanga and Bulacan will possibly delay harvest or worse, damage some crops.

Some farmers believe that their anticipated harvest time from June to July may not actually happen unless there is enough rain to replenish the dam, which will irrigate the farmlands in this province and Bulacan.

“Harvest season should have started in April or May but it has been delayed because of extreme heat. Without enough significant rainfall, there is a possibility not only of a delay in the harvest but a destruction of crops,” said Kulas Aquino, 55, a farmer from Candaba, Pampanga.

“At least 15 barangays in Candaba will be affected by the stoppage,” added Aquino.

Florante Buergo, also a farmer of Barangay Fortuna, Floridablanca, echoed a similar point stressing that continues rain, even with the scorching sun, will allow them to harvest their produce starting this month.

“There shouldn’t be a problem since the rainy season is coming soon. But if rains do not come soon and this dry weather remains, we may have the unfortunate destruction of our corn and rice crops,” Buergo said.

In San Simon town, the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) said that 1,015 hectares of the total farming land area, which has a total 452 farmers and farming families will be likely affected by the cut off.

PAGASA earlier said that water supply for Bulacan and Pampanga’s irrigation was cut off after water elevation in Angat Dam sunk below the critical level of 180 meters to 179.88 meters above sea level. The stoppage was expected to accommodate the water supply needs of nearby Metro Manila.

The Angat Dam based in Bulacan supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s domestic water needs wherein some 14 million residents rely from.