Dam to ease effects of dry spell

By Jojo Riñoza

DAGUPAN CITY – Towns in Pangasinan downstream of the San Roque Dam will be least affected by the impending dry spell, an official the firm operating the dam said.

“We have enough water in San Roque (dam) to address the irrigation requirements of farmlands in several municipalities downstream,” according to Tommy Valdez, vice president for corporate affairs of the San Roque Power Corporation.

Valdez said the San Roque Multipurpose Project (SRMP) “is basically for irrigation and that one the reasons why the level in the watershed should be maintained at the end of the rainy season.

Most eastern and central agricultural towns of the province benefit from the irrigation coming from the dam, among them San Manuel, Asingan, Villasis, Urdaneta, Binalonan, Laoac, Malasiqui, Alcala, Tayug, Sta. Maria, Rosales, Balungao, Calasiao, Mapandan and Manaoag, as well as San Manuel in Tarlac.

The 200-meter-high, 1.2-km-long dam on the Agno River is the largest in the Philippines.