SAN RAFAEL, Bulacan—The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has built a copper dam as temporary flood control structure that replaces the damaged and now non-functioning Rubber Gate No. 3 of Bustos Dam.
Placida Cordero, head of NIA Irrigation Management Office (IMO) in Bulacan said the installation of the copper dam was completed just within more than two weeks or sixteen days time from May 23-June 7 to ensure the continues function of the Bustos dam as a flood control project particuarly following the onset of the rainy season.
Copper dam is made of metal sheet and partly cement materials. While it served as part of the whole flood control facility of the Bustos dam, it also protects the gate 3 area from different debris that flows down along Angat River. Bustos dam, also known as Angat After Bay Regulatory dam, is a water controlling dam of the Angat and Ipo dams located in the Sierra Madre Mountain range areas in upper Norzgaray town.
Cordero told NEWSCORE in an interview at her office on Wednesday that ITP Construction, the contractor behind the rehabilitation of the Bustos Dam assured NIA of replacing Gate No. 3 with a brand new rubber gate.
Rubber Gate No. 3 auddenly deflated on May 1 after it weakens because of extreme heat brought by the high heat index over the recent months, according to Bulacan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) head Manuel Lukban Jr.
Mayor Francis Juan had ordered a preemptive evacuation of residents living near the Bustos-Angat river in fear of flashfloods. However, Lukban said, the volume of water that spilled remained minimal and would not cause a flashflood.
Gate No. 3 collapsed while at the height of Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando’s standing urgent call to NIA and the ITP to replace all the six rubber gates of Bustos Dam after Gate No. 5 has earlier collapsed five years ago on May 10, 2020.
Fernando in a Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) Meeting on June 13 at the Capitol maintains the reiteration and demand of the provincial government of Bulacan to NIA and ITP to replace all the six rubber gates to ensure the safety of the people of Bulacan living the low lying areas along the Angat River.
The governor said the collapse of Gate 3 and 5 fortunately happened while Bustos dam is in low elevation. He said, if elevations were high, flashfloods could have affected and displaced many residents.
A similar copper dam was installed in 2020 after Gate No. 5 was damaged. Gate No. 5 was only replaced in April 2024.
Francis Clara, head of the Water Control Coordination Unit of NIA said the pandemic in 2020-2022 caused the long delay in the replacement.
He said this time, the ITP has assured them of hastening the replacement of Gate No. 3.
Fernando insists that replacement of Gate No. 3 is still part of the warranty and back job of ITP.
Bustos Dam at 16.06 meters elevation on Saturday, June 21, had resumed releasing waters at 24 cubic meter per second (cms) of water.
Elevation of the dam should only be at 15.00 meters because of the non-functioning of Gate No. 3. Rains and the high level of water in Angat Dam at 195.40 meters above sea level (masl) leaves full volume for the Bustos Dam.
