Study on Angat Dam's structural integrity underway

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – A study on the structural stability and integrity of the 43-year-old Angat Dam will soon be underway, Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado said.

This came as stakeholders signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) early this week and awarded the contract to conduct the study to a domestic engineering consulting company with a tie-up with a New Zealand-based firm. 

Alvarado said he signed the MOA along with representatives of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management, and the Department of Science and Technology.

The contract for the feasibility study amounting to $1 million was awarded to the Engineering and Development Corp. of the Philippines and New Zealand firm Tonkin & Taylor. 

Jose Dorado Jr., principal engineer of the MWSS’ Engineering and Project Management Department, said the findings and recommendations of the six-month study would be immediately carried out after its completion.

MWSS Administrator Gerardo Esquivel said that as early as April 5, President Aquino had approved the conduct of the study and eventual remediation of Angat Dam.