Angat Dam water dips below critical level again

Water level at Angat Dam dropped below critical level again on Thursday, based on PAGASA's monitoring.

One week after the dam's water level recovered from the critical mark due to the monsoon rains, the reservoir's water was recorded again below critical level of 160 meters.

As of Thursday morning, the water level dropped to 159.93 meters from the 160.30-meter level recorded on Wednesday.

The level of water at Angat Dam, which supplies water to 90% of Metro Manila households, first dropped below critical level this year last June 22 at 159.78 meters.

Due to the decline of water in Angat Dam, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has reduced the allocation to Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and its concessionaires to 36 cubic meters per second (cms) from the regular allocation of 46 cms.

In a press release on Thursday, NWRB said the low level outlet in Angat is currently operational to maintain the current allocation of 36 cubic meters per second or around 3.1 billion liters per day.

Citing PAGASA’s projections, NWRB said the prevailing weakened southwest monsoon or Habagat resulted in the absence of significant rainfall in the watershed.

“However, it is projected that the monsoon rains will be present next week. It is our hope that the monsoon rains and the forecasted tropical cyclones this month will come earlier to help in the early recovery of Angat Dam,” it said.

NWRB encouraged the public to conserve water like harvesting and recycling rainwaters to help improve the water situation in Angat Dam.

“Responsible use of water is equally important to ease the water demand from Angat Dam and aid in its recovery,” NWRB said. —KBK, GMA News