Angat water level still ‘manageable’

The water level of Angat Dam, despite exhibiting a continued decline, is still manageable, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration on Monday.

PAGASA Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section chief Analiza Solis said that dam reduction during the warm and dry seasons is normal.

Its latest monitoring showed that the reservoir water level, or RWL, of Angat Dam, which provides potable water to the majority of Metro Manila areas and nearby provinces, is 203.08, -0.17 less than the 203.25 RWL recorded the previous day at the same time.

According to Solis, the current

RWL of the said dam is 8.03 meters above its normal rule curve of 195.05 meters.

“Usually this rule curve in these times reaches 195.05 [meters]. That means our dam is still okay and still manageable,” she said in a radio interview.

“Right now, because of the effect of El Niño, and even if it’s not El Niño, normally and historically, our dams and other dams continue to decrease during this time of the year, so our water levels are still manageable, especially in Angat,” she added.

Solis said that a continued decline in Angat Dam’s RWL can be expected in the coming months, as El Niño is still present in the country.

“We said that we are managing our Angat properly so that at least at the end of the effects of what we call El Niño and our warm and dry season months, still we will be able to recover just in time when our rainy season arrives.”

The weather state bureau last week issued a La Niña watch alert as the phenomenon is seen to predevelop in the coming months.

Solis said the criteria for La Niña Watch under the PAGASA’s El NiñoSouthern Oscillation Alert System were satisfied, following seeing a probability of the phenomenon occurring more than 55 percent starting in June.

She, however, noted that the issuance of the La Niña watch doesn’t guarantee the occurrence of the phenomenon.