Angat Dam water level dips below 180-meter minimum operating level

The water level in Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan fell below the minimum operating level on Saturday morning, data from PAGASA showed.

At 6 a.m., the reservoir water level (RWL) at the dam was at 179.99 meters, which is below the 180-meter minimum operating level.

This was 0.46 meters below the 180.45-meter RWL on Friday morning.

The normal high water level (NHWL) or spilling level of Angat Dam is at 210 meters, thus Saturday's RWL is 30 meters below it.

The National Water Resources Board on Thursday said it will further reduce the water allocation for Metro Manila and irrigation for nearby provinces should the water level at Angat Dam fall below its minimum operating level of 180 meters.

Over 90% of Metro Manila's water supply comes from Angat Dam.

Customers of Maynilad were advised on Friday to brace for a possible nine-hour service interruption in the coming week as concessionaires of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) will have reduced water allocation once Angat Dam's water level falls below 180 meters.

“For Maynilad, expected interruption will be on Wednesday (July 12), the earliest, but if there are rains, the start of interruption could be by Friday (14July),” MWSS Angat/Ipo Operations Management Division head Patrick James Dizon said in a text message on Friday.

The MWSS official said the affected households will be 591,000 “that is lesser from the 1.5 million affected households in April 2023.”

“The number of hours of interruption - 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. (nine hours)… that is lesser than the 14 to 16 hours interruption in April 2023,” Dizon said.

He added that the notice of interruption for the details of affected areas will be issued by Maynilad through its social media accounts on Monday, July 10.

Maynilad, for its part, said it will be having a press briefing on Monday to disclose specific details about the impact of the lower allocation.

“Manila Water will not be affected by the reduction of allocation,” Dizon said.

Other dams

Meanwhile, the water level in most other dams also went down on Saturday, based on PAGASA's data.

Ipo Dam in Bulacan had its RWL at 98.76 meters, down from the 98.79-meter RWL on Friday morning.

The water level at Ambuklao Dam in Benguet also went down by 0.61 meter, as its RWL was at 745.32 meters on Saturday. It was 745.93 meters on Friday.

San Roque Dam in Pangasinan and Benguet also registered a decrease in its RWL, which was at 236.85 meters on Saturday morning, down from the 237.05 meters on Friday.

Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija had its RWL at 179.39 meters on Saturday, down from Friday's RWL of 179.60 meters.

Magat Dam, which straddles Ifugao and Isabela provinces, also had a decrease in its water level, registering 164.81 meters RWL on Saturday, down from the 165.36-meter RWL on Friday.

Meanwhile, the water level at Caliraya Dam in Laguna was at 286.71 meters on Saturday, down from the 286.90 meters on Friday.

Only Binga Dam in Benguet registered a slight increase in its water level, from 568.35 meters on Friday to 568.45 meters on Saturday.

La Mesa Dam in Quezon City had its water level unchanged, remaining at 78.69 meters on Saturday, which was the same as on Friday. —KG, GMA Integrated News