Recent rains not enough to bring water levels back to normal —Manila Water

While the recent rains have added a few centimeters to the water level of the La Mesa Dam, Manila Water Corporation on Thursday said it is still not enough to bring levels back to normal.

"We welcome the rains that have been pouring over Metro Manila these past few days. But we cannot rest easy with it," Jeric Sevilla, group head for Corporate Strategic Affairs at Manila Water, said in a statement.

State weather bureau PAGASA this week monitored two low pressure areas (LPAs) close to the Philippines, one southwest of Ilocos Sur and another east of Cagayan.

According to Sevilla, the rains on Wednesday were not enough to bring the water level back to the regular level of 78 to 79 meters.

"While the heavy rains last night added 10 centimeters to the level of La Mesa Dam, the level of 68.55 meters, as of 5:00 AM, May 8, is still way below the critical level of 69 meters," he said.

"We still need a lot more and continuous days of that much rain for us to refill La Mesa. Secondly, even if we are able to refill La Mesa and we begin to draw water from it again to augment the still-deficient water supply, it is certain that we will encounter water quality issues," he added.

Manila Water earlier in the day reported a 27% drop in its earnings for the first quarter of the year, weighed down by the water supply shortage in Metro Manila. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/KBK, GMA News