CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan – The National Water Resources Board (NWRB) will allocate irrigation water to the National Irrigation Administration's (NIA) south zone service areas in this province starting in June.
Sevillo David Jr., NWRB executive director, said on Thursday that 15 cubic meters per second (cms) will initially be allocated for the irrigation of farmlands in the southern part of the province.
“This is to support the government’s program on food security which is equally important in sustaining the food requirement of our people under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ),” David said in a statement.
Noel Miranda, president of the Irrigators Association Federation of Pandi, Bustos, Plaridel and Bocaue Working Station No. 2 of the NIA, identified the towns included in the south zone service areas as Bustos, Plaridel, Pandi, Bocaue, Guiguinto, Balagtas, Bulakan, Malolos, Calumpit and Hagonoy, which have some 5,800 hectares of combined irrigated farmlands.
The NWRB suspended the allocation of irrigation water in those areas during the dry cropping season from January to April as the water elevation of Angat Dam did not reach its ideal 212-meter level at the end of last year.
Last January, the NWRB only allocated 20 cms of irrigation water to the north service areas of NIA-Bulacan, which include the towns of Pulilan, Baliwag, part of Calumpit and San Rafael in Bulacan and San Simon, San Luis, Candaba and Apalit in Pampanga that have a total irrigated rice lands of some 16,000 hectares.
Miranda said it will be advantageous to farmers of the south service areas of NIA which were deprived of irrigation water for the dry cropping season to start planting early this coming wet season.
“Ayon sa NIA hold muna lahat ng irrigation project except sa repair ng rubber gate sa Bustos Dam na before June 1 ay matatapos na (According to NIA, all irrigation projects were put on hold except the repair of the rubber gate in Bustos Dam which will finish before June 1),” he said.
On water sufficiency, the NWRB assured that water in Angat Dam is sustainable until the onset of rainy season in June.
As of Thursday morning, water elevation at Angat Dam was 191.85 meters, which is 11.85 meters above the minimum operating level of 180 meters and more than eight meters higher than the level of the dam on the same date last year.
With rainfall projection indicating near normal condition until September, the water level in Angat Dam is projected not to reach below the minimum operating level of 180 meters despite the full water allocation to Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the releases for irrigation supply to Bulacan farmlands for the wet cropping season this June.
David said the NWRB is coordinating with MWSS and NIA in sustaining their requirements and in providing steady supply for the public considering the importance of water in fighting off the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). (PNA)
* Stay at Home and START YOUR OWN blog site, business or personal website, or e-commerce store at
www.wirenine.comLinkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=100993.0
