HYDROLOGY

CEHYDROLOGY – V144
1T1819

WATERSHED
MANAGEMENT
PANTABANGAN DAM
PANTABANGAN - CARRANGLAN
WATERSHED

Prepared By:
AQUINO, ALLYSSA CLAIRE M.
BORLONGAN, JOYCE CRYSTAL
CAGURUNGAN, JOHN MARK
LIMPIN, ADRIAN
ORGIL, ANGELJUSTINE T.
TIRAO,NIGEL

Submitted to:
ENGR. LADY LYN E. ESCARIESES

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

Date Submitted
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TOPOGRAPHY

LOCATION

The Philippines is an archipelagic country composed of 7,641 islands as of 2017

according to Environment Secretary Ramon Paje at the Philippine Environment Summit, a
project by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA). The country is
blessed with abundant fresh water resources including the 421 principal rivers in which 20 of
them are considered as major river basins. In Figure 1, it is shown that Central Luzon is
surrounded by major river basins, dams and watershed.

Figure 1. Dams and Watershed in Region III - Central Luzon

The main purpose of these dams and their watersheds focuses in ascertaining sustainable water
supply for every Filipino household. It is also linked in the escalating demand for domestic

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consumption, irrigation requirements, commerce and industry. One of these water resources is
the Pampanga River Basin.

Pampanga River Basin, located the central part of Region III (Sierra Madre and Central
Luzon) and covering the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Pampanga, is considered as second
largest river basin in Luzon and fourth largest river basin in the Philippines with catchment or
drainage area of 10,434km2 according to Vicente B. Tuddao, JR., Ph.D. (Executive Director, River
Basin Control Office, Department of Environment and Natural Resources). The location of
Pampanga River Basin is as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. The Pampanga River Basin Location Map

It crosses from the southern slopes of Caraballo Mountains, range of Sierra Madre,
Central Plain of the Luzon Island to its mouth in Manila Bay through the Lanbangan Channel. It
is sustained by four tributaries – Penaranda River, Coronel-Santor River, Rio Chico River and
Bagbag River. The river basin encompasses parts of the following provinces: Aurora, Bataan,
Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Rizal and some parts of the
national capital region including Valenzuela, Caloocan, and Quezon City. The Pampanga River
Basin serves as a source of water supply for the irrigation of Nueva Ecijia.

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PANTABANGAN DAM

Pantabangan Dam is situated in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon, which has
the coordinates of 15o48’15” N and 121o06’ E., is an earth-fill embankment dam on Pampanga
River. It is about 10 km north of the town of Rizal, Nueva Ecija and about 180 kilometers North
of Manila. It is considered one of the biggest in Asia, with a storage capacity of almost 3,000
MCM. The Pantabangan Dam is a multi-purpose dam aimed at providing water supply for
irrigation of about 106,400 hectares of rice lands, power generation of 100 MW and flood
control of 330 MCM (JICA,2011). Pantabangan Dam has four bays (3 gated and one over flow).

Pantabangan was the first town established during the Spanish regime. Augustinian
friars occupied the region Northeast which was drained by tributaries of the Rio Grande in 1701
and during that time it was also an agricultural land. They lived by means of farming and fishing
(Guia, 2012).

Due to the limited volume of water regularly stored at the Pantabangan Reservoir, the
government to undertake feasibility studies to explore the possibility of tapping the tributaries
of the Cagayan River and increase the water supply to the reservoir for maximum irrigation
dependability and power generation (JICA, 2011). The construction began in June 1971 to May
1974. The completion of Pantabangan Dam has greatly ease the water supply requirement of
about 8,000 hectares of farmlands in the floodplains (NPC, 1977).

As a result of its growing fishing industry, the local government instituted its famous
Pandawan Festival, its bid to boost the local economy through tourism related activities.
Pandawan comes from the word "Pandaw" (fish harvest) and "Pagdalaw sa Pagaani" (visit
during harvest)The dam's clear water is the sanctuary of tropical marine life and an inviting site
for jet skiing and fishing (Guia, 2012).

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CLIMATE

Pantabangan - Carranglan Watershed (PCW) area largely falls under the Philippine
Climatic Type I with two pronounced seasons, namely, dry from December to April and wet the
rest of the year. A small portion of the watershed especially that at the boundary of Aurora,
falls under Climatic Type II characterized by no dry season and very pronounced maximum
rainfall from November to January.

Figure 3. Location map of the Pantabangan-Carrranglan Watershed

The average annual precipitation varies from less than 2,000 mm in the lower elevations
to over 3,000 mm in the mountains east of the reservoir, with an average of about 2,800 mm.
The heaviest precipitation occurs in the months of May through August, the heart of the
southwest monsoon season, and accounts for about 70% of the annual rainfall with about 22%
of the annual precipitation occurring in July (World Bank, 1980).

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Minimum monthly temperature is recorded at 23.21 °C and 33.71 °C for the maximum
monthly temperature. The lowest temperature occurs during December through March while
the highest temperature occurs from April through November with an average of 33 °C (NPC
1995 and 1997).

The watershed experiences strong winds from the east and northeast during the months
of December through April and light and variable winds during the rest of the year. The mean
monthly wind speed, measured 10 m above ground, varies from 3 to 11 km/hour (World Bank,
1980).

The average annual relative humidity is 83.37%. The lowest relative humidity occurs
during May with 76.6% and the highest during September with 86.67% (NPC 1995 and 1997).
This watershed lies within the typhoon belt, with most typhoons occurring between September
and October (Batayan et al, 2000).

PROTECTED AREA/FLORA AND FAUNA

The Pantabangan–Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve (PCWFR) is a conservation area

located in the upper reaches of the Pampanga River in Nueva Ecija, Philippines, and borders the
Sierra Madre and Caraballo Mountains in Aurora and Nueva Vizcaya (Galvez, 1984).

Under Proclamation No. 561, the reserve’s boundaries were established and the area for
watershed purposes was protected and subjected to private rights. Its management was
handed over to the Bureau of Forestry of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR), the Reforestation Administration, the National Waterworks and Sewerage
Authority (NAWASA, now the MWSS), the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Bureau of
Public Works (now DPWH), Bureau of Public Soils (now Bureau of Soils and Water
Management), and the National Power Corporation (Marcos, 1969).

The reserve consists of flat areas and rolling to rugged and steep mountainous landscape
where various tree and wildlife species inhabit.

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The forested watershed is the sanctuary of several endangered fauna and flora.

The forestland is an area of secondary growth trees including the following:

 Earleaf acacia (Acacia auriculiformis)

 Eucalyptus
 Yemane (Gmelina arborea)
 Ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala)
 Mahogany and;
 Narra (Pterocarpus)

On the ridges above 700 metres (2,300 ft) are areas of Benguet pine forests mixed with
montane Dipterocarp trees.

The open grasslands occupying the flat areas near Pantabangan Lake primarily consist of
the following:

 Cogon grass
 Samon
 Talahib and;
 Alibangbang trees

In February 2014, the smallest species of the Rafflesia parasitic plant shown in Figure 4,
the Rafflesia consueloae, was discovered within the reserve on Mount Pantaburon and Mount
Balukbok near the Pantabangan and Masiway hydroelectric dams (Duya, 2016).

Figure 4. Smallest Raflessia species in the world

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The PCWFR also provides an important refuge for wildlife which includes:

 Philippine deer
 Crab-eating macaque
 Philippine duck
 Eastern grass owl
 Red junglefowl
 Reticulated python and;
 Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator)

Some species of fish available in the waters of Pantabangan are:

 Carp
 Snake murrel and;
 Tilapia

But the single most sought after fish species in Pantabangan is the largemouth bass, a
common fish in the United States that was introduced to the lake only recently.

The PCW has a complex land configuration. Topography ranges from the nearly level to
the undulating and sloping to the steep, hilly, and rugged. The highest peaks are 1,650 and
1,410 masl, respectively. The PCW has a mean slope of 40%.

Areas on the surrounding upland, hills and mountains within the watershed limit are
underlain by intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks, and by sedimentary rock materials including
the diorite and quartz materials.

The Caraballo Mountain and Mt. Deugonog areas are made up of metavolcanic minerals.
The northwestern part of the watershed extending towards the south and southeastern part,
including Mt. Carranglan, Maluyan, and Pantabangan, features consolidated conglomerates
with interlayer of sand stone, mudstone and shade of upper Miocene age to Pliocene age can
be found (Lasco, 2005).

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The place offers a scenic view of the surrounding area. The serene blue-sky displayed in
Figure 5, glimpses the 1.61 kilometer long dam enveloped by the picturesque view of Sierra
Madre Mountains. . The dam's clear water is the sanctuary of tropical marine life and an
inviting site for jet skiing and fishing. Tourists will also appreciate the dam's engineering
wonders (DOT, 2014). Figures 6, 7 and 8 show the several views of the dam.

Figure 5. Scenic view of Pantabangan Dam

Figure 6. (Left) Downstream , (Right) Pantabangan Dam’s aerial view

Figure 7. Top view of Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed

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POPULATION

As per the result of 2015 National Statistics Office (NSO) Population Census, the totality
of population in Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed for both municipalities of Pantabangan
and Carranglan is roughly 71,056.

The population for both genders include 36,674 males and 34,382 females which lead to
106.7 male-female sex ratio denoting that there are 107 males per 100 females. Age group
(Figure 8) of 0-14 consists of 22,677 or 31.9% of the total population. People belonging to the
age bracket 15-64 comprise 45,313 having the highest percentage of 63.8% and the elderly
comprises 3,066 or the least percentage of 4.3%.

Age Group Population

3066

22677 0-14 years

15-64 years
65 and up
45313

Figure 8. Age group population in Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed

Total dependency ratio is 56.8 meaning for every 100 productive individuals, 56.8 are
depending on support. Young dependency ratio (age group 0-14 years) is high at 50.0 while old
dependency (age group 65 and above) is only 6.8. These results imply that young dependents
are more than the elderly.

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LAND USE

A total of 36 barangays are found in the Pantabangan–Carranglan Watershed, of which 17

are in Carrangalan, 14 in Pantabangan, 3 in Alfonso Castañeda, and 2 in Ma. Aurora (Figure 9).
As of 2015, about 70,000 people reside in the watershed (National Statistics Office 2015). Also,
Figure 8 displays the location of the three national government agencies that spearhead the
management of the Pantabangan–Carranglan Watershed: Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) Central Luzon Office, National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and National Power
Corporation (NPC). Each institution has specific areas within the watershed that is under its
jurisdiction.

Figure 9. Municipality and barangay boundaries and jurisdication of major institutions within the
Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed

Forestlands, open grasslands and reforestation sites are the major land use types
found in the watershed (Figure 10).

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The watershed is
The municipalities of Pantabangan and Carranglan comprise the largest portion of the
watershed, where agriculture is the major source of livelihood. Around 5,400 ha (12% of the
total land area) in Pantabangan and 19,700 ha (28% of the total land area) in Carranglan are
used for agriculture. Vegetation in the watershed is predominantly second growth. Primary
forests in the watershed have greatly declined since the logging boom in 1960s, though
remnants of dipterocarp forest can still be found (Saplaco et al. 2001). On the other hand, of
substantial occurrence is the escalation in the area of reforested sites, although these sites are
now under severe pressure from the rapid population growth. Alienable and disposable (A & D)
areas include residential and barangay sites, as well as cultivated areas.

Agricultural crops such as rice, onion, vegetables, corn, and other crops are grown on
cultivated lands. Rice, onion, and vegetables are the primary crops raised on the lowland areas
of Carranglan. Within the watershed rift, most of the areas dedicated for rice production are
rain-fed. Water pumped from wells and run-of-the-river irrigates some areas for rice
production. With this current cultivation practice, rice growing cannot maximize the best use of
the land. Hence, other primary crops are produced like yellow corn and onion. Secondary crops
are also planted which include vegetables, like eggplant, tomatoes, bitter gourd, and squash

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(Saplaco et al. 2001, Toquero 2003). During the dry season, onion is the most popular crop.
Second cropping is practiced by farmers in irrigated rice lands and sometimes in rain-fed areas
depending on the frequency of rain during the year (Toquero 2003). In kaingin (slash-and-burn)
farms, crops like banana, cassava, sweet potatoes, and corn are normally grown. Meanwhile,
only one pastureland was recorded in the area. This is found in Pantabangan where only limited
areas are devoted for agriculture (Saplaco et al. 2001). However, even if the watershed
reservoir itself is located in Pantabangan, the municipality only acts as host for irrigation
water serviced to Central Luzon.

Being one of the biggest fishing reservoirs in Asia, fishing is the second most important
source of livelihood, specifically in Pantabangan. Other occupations include grazing and
reforestation activities, cottage industries and small businesses. Many residents are also
occupied in the labor force. Unemployment however remains a significant problem as a result
of the limited opportunities and many people resort to slash-and-burn farming and charcoal
making at the expense of the local environment (Pantabangan Master Plan, 1998-2000;
Development Management Plan of Carrangalan, 2003-2007).

Today, PCW boosts its eco-tourism by means of the activities such as mountain trekking
on notable peaks like Mount Susong Dalaga and Mount Nedumular, boating, sports fishing jet-
skiing and swimming and for its numbers of recreational sites including Binbin Falls and
Pajanutic Falls.

CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM

MACRO-INVERTEBRATES

A total of 1,508 individuals belonging to 20 taxa was recorded in the 360 samples in
Pantabangan Dam (Magbanua et al., 2015). Of these, 8 classes comprised 91.2% of the total:

 Class Chironominae with (28.6%) were the most abundant macro-invertebrates,

 Class Tanypodinae (23.3%)

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 Class Ceratopogonid Bezzia spp. (14.2%)

 Class Caenodes spp. (7.2%)
 Class Ecnomus spp. (6.6%)
 Class Glossosoma spp. (5.0%)
 Class Corbicula fluminea (4.1%); and
 Class Tarebia granifera (2.2%)

Midges of Class Tanypodinae (23.3%) and Asian prosobranch snail of Class Tarebia
granifera (2.2%) are pollution tolerant.

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