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Things Families Should Know About La Mesa Dam

by Kevyn Gohu
July 25, 2024

Although La Mesa Dam is slowly returning to normal, here are some things you need to know about one of Metro Manila’s main water reservoirs.

Once Super Typhoon Carina was declared red alert for rainfall, La Mesa Dam soon followed with it almost reaching the state of overflowing. While the dam’s spillage eventually made its way to the Tullahan River, families living in Quezon City (Fairview), Malabon, Valenzuela, Caloocan, and Navotas — the areas where the river flows — were advised to evacuate especially if they lived in lowland areas. But what people forget about La Mesa Dam is that it doesn’t just keep water in; it supplies water to other areas in Metro Manila.

Here are other things to know about La Mesa Dam:

1. Unlike Angat Dam, La Mesa Dam is an open one.

Being an open dam means that La Mesa doesn’t have gates to control spillage should it overflow. With the waters reaching around 80.15 meters yesterday, some local government units (LGUs) already focused on evacuating some of the families that live near the dam itself and the Tullahan River. Although La Mesa Dam’s levels are normalizing according to PAGASA, the damage caused by the overflow can make incoming floods hard to deal with.

2. La Mesa was a replacement for Rizal’s Wawa Dam.

Originally built in 1929, La Mesa Dam was built to replace the Wawa Dam in Rizal. It would then serve the many families that flocked to Metro Manila and its surrounding cities for the next several decades and generations, funneling water to both Maynilad Water and Manila Water for cleaning. With the rising demand, La Mesa also grew in height to increase its capacity, currently at 79 m (24ft).

3. Funds to maintain or keep the dam come from La Mesa Ecopark.

To keep improving or at least maintaining the dam, the funds have to come from somewhere! La Mesa Ecopark, a very beloved nature playpark for kids and families alike, is one of the main sources of funds for maintaining the watershed. Besides making kids more aware of their role in nature, the funds spent in the park will help also maintain the dam and watershed to prevent spillages for many generations to come.

4. If the dam breaks, areas will lose water.

Besides flooding the cities below, the breakage of the La Mesa dam is catastrophic for those whose areas rely on it for their water source. In most cases, La Mesa is the one providing the water with the plants within the metro cleaning the water with a four-stage filter to ensure families can use it without worry. So if the dam runs out of water or it breaks, some families may suffer loss of water.

La Mesa is connected to two water treatment facilities: East La Mesa Treatment Plant and Balara Treatment Plants — both of which are located in Quezon City.

How families can come together and help out

A typhoon’s rain can be just as destructive as its winds. With Super Typhoon Carina leaving some areas in the capital in a state of calamity, La Mesa Dam is one of the few things preventing Metro Manila from becoming an underwater city.

While the dam’s water levels subside, families that still have access to water can start passing around clean water to other families who have no water due to the floods. Medicines and vitamins, especially those that beef up the immune system, are just as viable considering that Leptospirosis (a blood poisoning disease from the urine of pests) may become more common now.

And if there are stray animals, offer them a temporary home. They’re just as scared as you were during the typhoon and while we have posable thumbs to build houses and sheds, they don’t. They don’t need much; sometimes, a dry balikbayan box with a towel and some kibble is good enough.

Typhoons don’t choose their victims; so we help whoever we can.