Bustos Dam also known as Angat Afterbay Regulator Dam is a small irrigation dam at

Bustos, Bulacan Bustos, officially the Municipality of Bustos ( tgl, Bayan ng Bustos), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 77,199 people. With the continuous expansion of Met ...

is often mistaken by the locals as

Angat Dam Angat Dam () is a concrete water reservoir embankment hydroelectric dam that supplies Metro Manila and nearby provinces with water. It was a part of the Angat- Ipo- La Mesa water system. The reservoir supplies about 90 percent of raw water requ ...

since it is located close to the nearby town of Angat. The project is located at Barangay Tibagan, Bustos, Bulacan, served by the

Angat River The Angat River (also called Quingua River) is a river in the Philippines located in the province of Bulacan. It flows from the Sierra Madre mountain range to Manila Bay. Three dams are located along the river namely Angat, Ipo and Bustos. The ...

. The main dam is about 18 meters above sea level. Among the 2.5-meter high, six-span dam's main features are easily deflatable and inflatable rubber body, resistance to sedimentation, economical and having auto-deflation system.

History

Built in 1926, 50 kilometers upstream from the Bustos Dam as a fixed type river weir without gates, the AARD, Angat Afterbay Regulator Dam (commonly known as Bustos Dam) is the longest rubber dam in Asia at 79 meters and the second largest in the world. It has coordinates of 14°57'25"N 120°57'15"E serving nearby cities: Real, Quezon, Rodriguez (Montalban), Rizal, Antipolo City, Rizal. In 1967, steel sector gates were installed on top of the regulator dam for the purpose of generating irrigation water, power supply and domestic water supply.

Rehabilitation

With its construction, the Bustos Dam's height was increased by 2.5 meters and later renamed Angat Afterbay Regulator Dam, increasing the service area of the Angat-Maasim Rivers Irrigation System (AMRIS), which operates the AARD from 25,000 hectares in 1927 to 31,485 hectares in 20 towns in Bulacan and Pampanga benefitting 20,562 farmers. The series of typhoons from 1968 to the early part of 1980 was damaging to the dam whose Bay 1 sector gate finally gave way in September 1990 after typhoon "Iriang" carried away the structure 250 meters downstream from its original post. The agency has undertaken temporary rehab works in the dam using their own budget and through funding assistance from the World Bank. The present dam was rehabilitated by Kurimoto, LTD., Osaka, Japan, manufacturing date, as of May, 1997. It has Washed Out, Intake, Sluice and Roller Gates sets. Its clear spans are 4.6% 1.53 meters. Its gate (opening) heights are 4.5 and 1.0 meters. The weights of the leaves are 5.4 and 1.0 tons. The operating speed is 0.3 m./ min. In 2001, The

Japan International Cooperation Agency The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...

(JICA) has approved a P500-million grant-in aid to the government for the repair and improvement of the Angat Afterbay Regulatory Dam (AARD) in Bustos, Bulacan, the

National Irrigation Administration The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) ( fil, Pambansang Pangasiwaan ng Patubig) is a Philippine government-owned and controlled corporation primarily responsible for irrigation development and management in the country. History NIA was ...

(NIA) said here over the weekend. By the 3rd Quarter of 2014, The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is bidding out the P1-billion contract for the rehabilitation of the Bustos rubber dam in Bulacan.

Gallery

References

{{Dams in the Philippines Dams in the Philippines Hydroelectric power plants in the Philippines Dams completed in 1926 Buildings and structures in Bulacan Japan International Cooperation Agency