Full-capacity Magat Dam ops possible by end-December

The dam’s end-December water level may be almost at the 193 meters normal-high water level, Richard Orendain, hydrologist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Friday. (File Photo By Handtell – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA – Magat Dam will likely be nearly filled with water by the end of the year, enabling the facility to operate at full capacity.

The dam’s end-December water level may be almost at the 193 meters normal-high water level, Richard Orendain, hydrologist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Friday.

“We expect Magat to have a lot of water,” he said.

PAGASA reported Magat’s 6 a.m. water level on Friday at 189.34 meters, only 3.66 meters below the normal high.

The dam was releasing excess water at the time, it said.

The release of excess water aims to ensure the dam’s structural integrity.

Expected rainfall in the basin where Magat Dam is would help further raise its high water level, Orendain said, adding that for December, PAGASA forecast 240 mm. of rainfall over the Magat basin.

“That’s a lot of rain,” he said.