AN official of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said last Sunday the 39-year-old Magat Dam remains intact and that no major deformities or damages were observed in the past several days.
Acting Manager Carlo C. Ablan of the Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (Mariis) Dam and Reservoir Division pointed to the modern equipment in place in the Maris as a source of assurance.
Ablan cited they also installed new instruments such as Dam Deformation Monitoring System serving as an online monitoring tool, which produces data points every 30 minutes for the covered structure.
He explained that any abnormalities on the structure will be tracked right away and be acted upon even before the dam breaks.
Moreover, Ablan said NIA ensured that it has an existing contingency plan for the Magat Dam located in the Municipality of Ramon, Isabela.
Ablan issued his statement after the Regional Committee on Dam Safety (RCODS) held a virtual meeting last September 1.
The meeting was attended by officials and representatives from the following: Cagayan Valley Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council; Department of Agriculture (DA) Region II; NIA-Region II; NIA-Mariis; Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa); Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region II; Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region II; National Housing Authority (NHA) Region II; Isabela State University; and, concerned Local Government Units (LGUs).
During the meeting, the revised “Protocol on Dam Discharge and Flood Warning Operation for Magat Dam” was discussed by Acting Head Edwin J. Viernes of the Flood and Forecasting and Instrumentation Section of NIA-MARIIS and a Technical Working Group under the Regional Committee on Dam Safety (RCODS) was directed to be created to review and finalize the project proposal on the “Ensemble Technique for Rainfall Runoff Forecasting.”
The Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Region II and the RCODS approved the crafting of the contingency plan proposed by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) in case of a breach in the Magat Dam.