Water level at Angat Dam remains 'normal' —NWRB exec

While the water level in Angat Dam remains "normal," the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) on Wednesday urged the public to conserve water due to the threat of El Niño.

In a public briefing, NWRB executive director Sevillo David said the Angat Dam reservoir water level (RWL) is 197.29 meters —  lower than its normal water level of 212 meters.

“Sa ngayon…may sapat tayong supply ng tubig para sa mga kababayan natin, particularly itong panahon ng tag-init. Kaya lang kailangan pa rin nating ipunin ito at magkaroon ng conservation ng supply para mapaghandaan ang threat ng El Nino,” he said.

(We still have enough water supply for the dry season but we still need to conserve water to prepare for the threat of El Niño.)

Over the weekend, the NWRB raised anew the allocation of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System  (MWSS) from the Angat-Ipo-La Mesa water system for the rest of April.

David said they approved the 52 cubic meters per second (CMS) allocation to the MWSS from the original 48 CMS for April 16 to 30, 2023 to curb the service interruptions which currently affect around 1 million homes in Metro Manila.

Asked if it would be extended until next month, said the NWRB said it was approved “conditionally."

“Ang allocation para sa buwan ng Mayo ay nasa conditional approval ng NWRB. Ibig sabihin depende kung nagsasawa ng MWSS at concessionaires ang mga commitment nila at  kung makakatugon ang MWSS sa conditions na inilalatag ng ng NWRB,” he said.

(The additional allocation for May is under the NWRB’s conditional approval. This means it depends on the MWSS and the concessionaires’ compliance to their commitments and conditions set by the NWRB.)

“Kabilang dito ay mga hakbang sa water augmentation at conservation efforts,” David added.

(It includes steps for water augmentation and conservation efforts.)

State weather bureau PAGASA last month said the El Niño phenomenon,  characterized by the abnormal warming of sea surface temperature in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and below normal rainfall, may begin in June and last until 2024.—LDF, GMA Integrated News