How to predict early safe release of dam water – 2nd comment from Philippine Star Federico Pascual
FYI… Postscript for Thursday, Oct. 18,
quotes Mr. M. Ocampo.
POSTSCRIPT/ PhilSTAR/ Oct. 15, 2009/ Thursday
By Federico D. Pascual Jr.
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UNSTEADY HAND: In the Senate, one listens in horror to the testimony of dam managers and executives of the National Power Corp., upon whose judgment rests the crucial decision of when and how to release impounded water from the dams.
Their unsteady hand is poised on the lever that could unleash death and destruction on communities downstream — as had happened in the recent flooding in Central and Northern Luzon that killed hundreds and destroyed properties worth billions of pesos.
Their testimony and buck-passing gave the impression they think that dam water is released only when the reservoir is dangerously full, and that that is done mainly to save the structure from collapse.
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TOKEN WARNING: From their dry perch, the officials’ only concession to saving human lives is for them to ring an alarum bell and alert local officials of the impending release of the death-dealing deluge.
From then on, it is supposed to be the sole responsibility of everybody down below to hurriedly gather their brood and prized possessions and run for their lives.
It is clear that some officials have to pay very dearly for the flood-related tragedy. But knowing how the notion of accountability has gone with the wind and how cheap human lives have become in this country, that would be expecting too much.
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PREEMPTIVE RELEASE: We have learned a lot from reader Marcial T. Ocampo, part of whose treatise on dam management we used in our Postscript last Thursday. (He has proceeded to send materials to a wider public, including government officials.)
One thing that stands out in my mind is that during the typhoon season, a dam manager does not wait for heavy rains having in mind mainly the filling to the brim of his reservoir for irrigation and hydropower-generation.
With days of rain predicted to deliver large volumes of water anyway, a wise preemptive step is to release in advance the impounded water at a regulated safe rate before the typhoon blows in.
This (1) prepares the communities downstream for the gradual rise in the level of the waterways running through them, and (2) leaves ample space in the reservoir to catch and neutralize the rainwater expected to be dumped on the watershed.
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ePOSTSCRIPT: Read current and old POSTSCRIPTs at www.manilamail.com. Email feedback to fdp333@yahoo.com
For the complete text of Marcial’s treatise on dam management, please follow the link:
Marcial T. Ocampo
Energy Technology and Pricing Expert
Business Development Consultant
Former Executive Director, Philippine Council for Industry & Energy Researcy & Development, Department of Science & Technology (PCIERD-DOST)
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