Rains from 'Ester' bring up Angat's level further — PAGASA

Rains brought by Tropical Storm Ester (Dianmu) helped raise water levels at Angat Dam by almost a meter, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Tuesday. PAGASA's dam status showed Angat's water level went up to 164.38 meters as of 6 a.m. Tuesday, up 0.78 meter from Monday's 6 a.m. level of 163.60 meters. Ester passed through parts of northern Luzon and brought rains to parts of Luzon and the Visayas since last weekend. It has moved out of Philippine territory and is heading for southern Japan. However, Angat’s water level was still some 16 meters below the "normal" level of 180 meters. Angat supplies some 97 percent of Metro Manila's water needs. Angat Dam manager Rodolfo German said in a radio interview Monday that water levels at the dam had been rising gradually this week. "Tumataas paunti-unti since. Ngayon lang umaagos ang tubig galing sa sapa (The water levels had been going up, especially after water from other tributaries started to rush into the dam)," German said in an interview on dzBB radio. German said the water level at Angat had been inconsistent last week, going up and down. — RSJ, GMANews.TV