Scientific Conference On Flood Tracking

Scientific conference on flood tracking, graph determination, analysis of PAGASA rainfall.....on July 27,2015 with Prof. Nicanor O. Melecio, MBM Project Director ASEAN CHALLENGE 2015-2016 under the administration of Mayor Belen T. Fernandez.

Technical Conference at DILG Region 1 Office..

Technical Conference on July 21, 2015 at DILG Regional 1 Office Resource Center Presided by Dagupan City Mayor Belen F. Fermandez, Professor Nicanor Melecio( Project Director) for ASEAN 2015-2016, Engr. Al Rina Penamante (Supervising Consultant) of DAGUPAN CITY SMART OPERATION CENTER, Engr. Jonh Celeste- Regional Manager, (National Irrigation Administration , Urdaneta City), Teodoro Paragas-NIA Acting Head Division PMIO-Urdaneta City, Engr.Rosaurio S. Peralta-Agno Flood Control Office(AFCO), Roderick Dawis-DILG Dagupan City. (Photo below is the NIA Main Canal as wide as that of a four lane highway)

Mayor Belen Fernandez inks protocol on NIA releases on water irrigation canal.

Dagupan City- The province of Pangasinan has experienced a rainfall for almost two weeks which started on July 3, 2015 to July 19, 2015. Seemingly, this volume of rainfall waters contributed to the flooding of low lying municipalities ànd cities specially Dagupan City. There were 19 barangays flooded in Dagupan City. PAGASA record shows that on July 13-19, 2015 there is approximately heavy amount of rainfall. Because of the configuration of the province indicates that Dagupan City is the lowest lying area thereby earning the moniker as" water catch basin" unlike Urdaneta City on the East and Malasiqui on the South West on higher grounds. Ultimately, rainfall water flows down to Dagupan City. High tide hinders drainage canal water from flowing freely towards the sea. 


Mayor Belen F. Fernandez, in an effort to reduce the sufferings, anxiety, worries, possible loss of life, limb or property of her constituents from being flooded, called for a technical conference on July 21, 2015 at DILG Regional 1 Office Resource Center attended by the good Mayor, Professor Nicanor Melecio( Project Director) for ASEAN 2015-2016, Engr. Al Rina Penamante (Supervising Consultant) of DAGUPAN CITY SMART OPERATION CENTER, Engr. Jonh Celeste- Director, (National Irrigation Administration , Urdaneta City), Teodoro Paragas-NIA PMIO-Urdaneta City, Engr.Rosaurio S. Peralta-Agno Flood Control Office(AFCO), Roderick Dawis-DILG Dagupan City. It also caused heavy traffic in downtown area. The Technical Conference presided by Prof. Nicanor Melecio discussed the following, to wit; The urgent Agno River Improvement Project, improvement of existing dike allong the San Manuel to Asingan Section of the Agno River, downloading of maintenance funds 2014-2015 to various congressional and engineering districts. Just the other day, Prof. Nicanor Melecio led a team of Flood Trackers to secure NIA Record of water releases from ARISIP to feeding NIA canals from July 3-19, 2015 inflow from San Roque Dam and 2015 Irrigation Plan of NIA/ schedule of irrigation releases. All these are determined and monitored by a highly sophisticated ESCADA computer machine installed at the ARISIP on-site office. Accordingly, the Flood Tracking Team is currently computing the cumulative total of water releases from July 3 to July 18, 2015 based on the report of the NIA Office gate operator. Logically, the volume of water demand by farmer/ irrigators should be based on their actual needs ànd correspondingly released by ARISIP .This crucial issue can only be supplied by the farmers themselves, hence, the need for consultation. 
During the Technical Conference, Mayor Fernandez, queried, “What are other sources of water that flooded Dagupan City? 


Professor Nicanor O. Melecio in a 2013 study reported that the other sources of floodwaters are: Spillway releases of San Roque Dam beyond 2,000 (CMS) which overflow the Agno river bank at SanVicente, San Manuel where a seven (7) kilometer gap without dike exits. According to the Unified Mangement Office Project (DPWH) this gap is now being addressed by DPWH through the establishment of Agno River Flood Control Project Phase III. It will close the gap with a seven (7 ) kilometer dike measuring four (4) to five (5) meters in height financed by a P3.4 Billion ODA fund. Unless the 7 kilometers dike is constructed the spillway releases of 
more than the 2000 CMS will overflow along the paddies and consequently into the river tributaries of the Pantal Sinucalan river that directly exits towards Dagupan City. 


As of the moment water being released by San Roque Dam run the dam's turbines and collects at the re-regulating pond .The waters which passes through the weir directly goes into the Agno River down to Lingayen. According to Professor Nick Melecio, “during ocular inspection on July 19, 2015 at the San Roque Dam Re-Regulating Pond the gate or siphon was open outflows to the NIA main canal which is almost the same size as that of a four lane high way. Water released through the siphon flows directly to the NIA Main Canal and redistributed to hundreds of lateral canals to deliver water for rice paddies. The ARISP main canal passes through Asingan, Binalonan, Urdaneta, at the back of Laoac down to Urdaneta, Sta Barbara main canal all the way to south or southeast of Dagupan City. In fact, NIA lateral irrigation canal reaches all the way to the back of Malued District adjacent to Calasiao. () The related canals are located at Cell no. 177 of the NIA Irrigation Map near Dagupan City. Three outlets of lateral canal near Dagupan City may be found about one kilometer from the cell. Example is lateral canal in Binloc located at Cell No. 288 and in Mangaldan at Cell no. 196


The irrigational water instead for rice fields find their way to Tagamusing River, Mitura River, Macalong River, Pototan, salarin, Marusay and other tributaries to the Pantal-Sinucalan River. Prof. Melecio also pointed out that residuals of fertilizers or pesticides in upland paddies and other upstream rice fields eventually end up towards Dagupan City .This need a separate scientific study to determine the effects of low level persistent pollutants.
FloodTrackers of Dagupan City SMART OPERATION CENTER who conducted an ocular inspection at the San Roque Dam Re-regulating Pond found out that based on NIA logbook on July 17, 18,19,2015, the gates were open and releases of water through the irrigation canal on a 24 hour basis may have added to the flooding in Dagupan City.
The Floodtrackers are currently analyzing the report of PAGASA office in AGNO RIVER BASIN FLOOD FORECASTING AND WEATHER SYSTEM OFFICE, located in Carmen, Rosales which recorded to determine volume of rain falling in the Agno River Basin.


Simply stated, rainfall plus irrigation water resulted in the flooding of low lying LGUs , like Sta.Barbara, Calasiao and Dagupan City.High tide inflows in drainage canals of Dagupan City did not add up to the flooding but only hindered floodwaters to pass freely towards the sea. Hence, upon hearing of all this information, Director Jonh Celeste agreed and strongly supported a PROTOCOL on release of waters from San Roque Dam Re-Regulating Pond subject to the requirements of the demands of farmers thru the NIA irrigation canal and all the necessary data needed by the City. These data will be furnished through SMART OPERATION CENTER in order to prepare Dagupenos against the "stacking" effect of irrigation waters flowing down towards Dagupan City. (Ronnel A. DeVera)