Dam water levels rise amid Habagat rains

Several dams across Luzon reported an increase in water levels as of Monday morning amid the heavy rainfall caused by the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat, according to the latest bulletin released by PAGASA. 

The San Roque Dam in Pangasinan saw the most significant 24-hour rise, increasing by 2.38 meters to reach 244.40 meters. 

Despite this, it remains 35.60 meters below its normal high water level (NHWL) of 280.00 meters. Six of its gates were opened to release excess water.

Meanwhile, Angat Dam, Metro Manila’s primary water source—registered a 1.61-meter rise, bringing its reservoir level to 195.71 meters, still 14.29 meters short of its NHWL of 210 meters. 

Upstream of Angat, IPO Dam slightly increased by 0.04 meters to 100.54 meters. To regulate its flow, one gate was opened at 0.5 meters, discharging 65.70 cms. 

Further north, Ambuklao Dam’s water level dipped slightly by 0.50 meters to 751.28 meters, still above its rule curve level. To maintain balance, four gates were opened at 2.0 meters, releasing a combined 311.37 cms of water. 

Binga Dam also recorded a small decrease of 0.22 meters prompting operators to keep six gates open at 3.5 meters, matching San Roque’s release of 508.31 cms. A secondary gate configuration was also observed at Binga, with two gates at 1.0 meter releasing 161.57 cms.

Other dams also showed varying changes in water levels. Pantabangan Dam rose by 0.59 meters to 193.50 meters, and Magat Dam increased slightly by 0.11 meters to 184.42 meters. Caliraya Dam, which has no specified NHWL, saw a 0.80-meter rise. None of these dams had gate openings reported as of this morning.

Meanwhile, La Mesa Dam, which supports Metro Manila’s distribution system, slightly dropped by 0.19 meters to 79.69 meters, just under its NHWL of 80.15 meters. —VAL, GMA Integrated News