Bustos Dam (PNA photo)
The continuous rainfall the past few weeks raised the water level of Bustos Dam to 17.53 meters which enabled the dam to release 15 cubic meters per second (cms) of water for purposes of irrigating the farmlands of Bulacan.
Felix Robles, head of the water control and coordinating unit of Bustos Dam, said dam has an overflow level of 17.50 meters. He said the irrigation water “will be sustained as long as there are local flows coming from the upstream rivers of Bustos Dam.”
Bayabas and Maasim rivers supply water to Bustos Dam which also catches water released by Angat Dam.
Gloria Carillo, provincial agriculturist of Bulacan said the province has 48,754.30 hectares of rice lands, of which 67% or 32,719.30 hectares are irrigated by Bustos dam while the rest depends on rainfal. (Jojo Mangahis)