Safety, reliability of Angat Dam a matter of national security- NPC

NORZAGARAY, Bulacan— Safety and reliability of Angat Dam is a matter of national security.

This was the statement of National Power Corporation (NPC) president and Chief Executive Officer Gladys Sta. Rita, as she stressed the urgent need to strengthen the structures of Angat Dam to withstand seismic activities associated with the West Valley fault.

“In the event that Angat Dam and dykes sustain serious damage, this would disrupt Metro Manila’s water supply and irrigation for farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga,” Sta. Rita said during President Benigno Aquino III’s inspection of the Angat Dam and Dykes Strengthening Project (ADDSP) Wednesday.

“The dam failure would present considerable risks to lives and properties downstream, as the contents of Angat Dam reservoir would cause flooding in nearby areas. As such, we at the NPC and partners from the national government continue to do measures to prevent dam failures and keep lives of people in nearby areas safe,” Sta. Rita added.

The Angat Dam System was constructed in the early 1960s as a multipurpose facility to provide domestic water supply for an estimated 97% of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System service areas, irrigation for 25,000 hectares of farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga, power generation of approximately 246 megawatts for the Luzon grid, and for flood control. Angat Hydropower Corporation (AHC), which is co-owned by San Miguel Corporation and foreign partner Korea Water Resources Corporation, acquired the Angat Hydroelectric Power Plant within the Angat Dam System from the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) in November 2014. With this, AHC entered into an Operations and Management Agreement with PSALM and NPC whereby it commits to conduct mandatory rehabilitation activities that include, among others, the strengthening of the Angat Dam and Dykes based on an assessment study conducted by independent engineering firm Poyry Energy Ltd that was reviewed and accepted by major government stakeholders. ADDSP involves proper maintenance of the three existing spillway gates so they continue to operate during floods and remain efficient at lowering the volume of water in the dam. Also, raising the impervious or clay portion of the core of the main dam by 1.2 meters to substantially improve the overall strength of the dam and widen the base and downstream slope of the dam and dykes using rockfill from a nearby quarry used during the original construction of the Angat dam. The new slope will increase from 1:1.40 to 1:1.55 in proportion. (CLJD/LGCC-PIA 3)