There is now enough water in the controversial Bayongan Dam to irrigate the estimated 5,300 hectares of target ricelands in the towns of Ubay, Trinidad and San Miguel; - even if it won’t rain in the next seven months.
With the onset of the rainy season, the desired water elevation of 52 meters is now reached at the Bayongan Dam reservoir; ready for the next two cropping seasons. The estimated impounded water volume reaches about 34.6-million cubic meters.Bayongan Dam project manager Engr. Modesto Membreve said the lateral canals are 98.5 % completed but the water can flow into an estimated 700 hectares of ricelands only in the targeted service area.
This is because the farmers are still in the process of building farm ditches to allow water into their ricelands while the land leveling is also on-going in the area of about 1,500 hectares.
“Officials of the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Department of Budget Management (DBM) will be here in Bohol middle of February for an on-site inspection. What they will see vindicate Gov. Erico Aumentado, father of the project and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) officials who were earlier accused of undertaking a project that is allegedly expensive and non-viable,†Membreve said.
Membreve clarified that Bayongan Dam “is not dependent on Malinao dam in Pilar,†as erroneously reported.
He pointed out that Bayongan dam has its own reservoir that can store 34.6-million cubic meters of water while Malinao has only a capacity of impounding about 9-million cubic meters of water.
“What flows into Bayongan (BHIP-2) is the excess of Malinao, but it does not mean it totally depends on it,†Membreve said.
- The Bohol Standard
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Topic: The Tragedy of Bayongan Dam in Bohol (Read 1585 times)