Pampanga River

The catchment area of ​​Pampanga

Template: Infobox River / Obsolete

The river Pampanga (formerly known as the Rio Grande de la Pampanga - Pampanga Big River ) after the Cagayan 's second longest river on the island of Luzon and the third longest in the Philippines. It is located in the Central Luzon region and flows through the provinces of Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Tarlac and Quezon.

The headwaters of the Pampanga rise in the mountains of the Caraballo Mountains and the Sierra Madre. Before the river flows south of Macabebe in the Manila Bay, it meanders over a length of 260 km southward through Luzon and is thereby fed by numerous tributaries. The largest of these are in addition to the Penaranda of Coronel - Santor River and the Rio Chico. At the headwaters of Pampanga is located in the province of Nueva Ecija erected in 1974 Pantabangan Dam, which impounds the river in Pantabangan reservoir. The dam is used in addition to the power generation and irrigation of the surrounding agricultural land, as well as the regulation of water masses in the river after heavy rains. Today, the dam and any resulting lake is also a popular destination among tourists.

The tributaries of the Pampanga, the Maasim, San Miguel, Garlang, Bulu and Penaranda, 320 km ² Candaba Marsh River forms. They are an important wintering area for migratory birds and a breeding area for native waterfowl. At the upper reaches of its tributary the Angat one of the most important areas is to produce drinking water for the capital region Metro Manila, the Angat Watershed Forest Reserve.

Especially the lower reaches of Pampanga is characterized by periodic flooding.

Since countless residents and industries along the Pampanga lack of alternative disposal options next to dispose of untreated waste water also many normal household waste in the river, this is very dirty. Local politicians are therefore calling counteract this problem by creating ordinary landfills and more enforcement of illegal waste disposal in the river.