The National Power Corporation (Napocor) will be releasing water from Ambuklao and Binga dams in Benguet starting at 6 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 11, in anticipation of heavy rains from tropical storm "Maring" (international name "Kompasu"), the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
PAGASA's Hydro-Meteorology Division received Napocor's notice of dam discharge warning operation on Sunday, Oct. 10, informing the agency that Ambuklao and Binga dams will release water from their reservoirs.
Napocor, in its advisory, said the current water levels of Ambuklao and Binga are "rising due to heavy rainfall brought by tropical cyclone Maring."
Based on the PAGASA's monitoring as of 6 a.m., Sunday, Ambuklao's water level has reached 751.51 meters, which is close to its 752.0-meter normal high water level.
Meanwhile, Binga Dam's water level was at 571.81 meters, just 3.2 meters short of its 575.0-meter normal high water level.
The majority of water discharge from Ambuklao Dam flows into Binga Dam, which in turn, releases water to San Roque Dam in Pangasinan.
San Roque Dam's current water level was at 270.20 meters, which is still far from its 280.0-meter normal high water level.
Ambuklao, Binga, and San Roque dams comprise a series of cascading dams supporting irrigation and power generation in Luzon.
Meanwhile, the National Irrigation Administration has suspended the scheduled release of water from Magat Dam reservoir in Isabela on Sunday afternoon.
NIA said that the estimated amount of rain in the next few days due to storm Maring may not be as much as initially expected.