NCR residents urged to save water as Angat Dam reaches new critical level

Authorities are urging National Capital Region (NCR) residents to conserve water as the water in Angat Dam in Bulacan has gone down to new “critical levels" lower than those recorded in July last year. Engineer Rodolfo German, manager of the Angat Dam which provides 97 percent of water to Metro Manila, said the situation is considered worse than in July 2010. “If the situation last year was critical, we can consider the present scenario even more so. We are not discounting a repeat of last July’s scenario," German said in Filipino in an interview on dzBB on Wednesday. As of early Wednesday, Angat Dam’s water level was at 202.92 meters, more than seven meters below the “normal" level of 210 meters, he said. While the water level eventually returned to normal last year, there was no guarantee it will happen again this year, especially if people do not use water wisely, he added. “The rains in recent days have helped raise Angat’s water level. But it is still not enough," he said. According to him, the normal water level at the reservoir has been set at 210 meters to have enough to irrigate farms. German hoped the rains from La Niña, which caused deadly floods in other parts of the country in the past weeks, will eventually help fill the water shortage in the damn. He also noted that now is not yet the right time for cloud seeding because of the strong winds from the northeast monsoon. Cloud seeding operations can be done in March, he said. “Ang problema malakas ang hangin kaya di pa siguro dapat. Suggestion ko pag simula na kung kailan wala na ang malakas na hangin," he said. The best measure for now, he said, is to conserve and practice “multiple use" of water, like Metro Manila residents did over six months ago. In July, authorities urged Metro Manila residents to conserve water by “recycling" the ones the used for bathing and washing clothes for other uses such as washing cars and flushing toilets. “Sa demand side conservation, pagtitipid at multiple use of water (On the demand side, we suggest conservation, saving and multiple use of water)," he said. — LBG/VVP, GMANews.TV