Angat Dam water level dips to 204 meters

The water level in Angat Dam has dropped by .33 meters, the lowest so far this year, due to El Niño.

As of 6 a.m. yesterday, the water elevation in the dam was at 204.06 meters.

Since March 1, the water level in Angat Dam has dropped by 1.67 meters. The average daily drop in the dam’s water level is .20 meters.

The water elevation is now 8.09 meters below its normal high of 212 meters, but still 24.06 meters above its minimum operating level of 180 meters.

Angat Dam supplies more than 90 percent of Metro Manila’s potable water needs and provides for the irrigation of 25,000 hectares of rice fields in Bulacan and parts of Pampanga.

Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System division manager Patrick Dizon said it was agreed during a recent meeting of the Angat Technical Working Group to implement a bulletin of the Water Resources Management Office (WRMO) for all government agencies to shut down main building valves from 7 p.m., or after employees have left the office, until 6 a.m. the next day.

“It will be a big help as part of the initiatives of the government to serve as role models, to lessen the consumption and to address leakages in the offices,” Dizon said.

President Marcos issued Executive Order No. 22 in April 2023, creating the WRMO under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The President directed the WRMO to monitor the progress of government agencies in conserving water through the analysis of their monthly water bills, with the aim of reducing their consumption by 10 percent.

Dizon clarified that the National Water Resources Board has not decided on the decrease of water allocation for Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water in April and May.

The water levels in six other dams in Luzon dropped. These are in La Mesa Dam in Quezon City, which dropped by .07 meters from its previous level; Binga Dam in Benguet, which dropped by 0.19 meters; San Roque Dam in Pangasinan, .31 meters; Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija, .32 meters; Magat Dam in Isabela,.12 meters, and Caliraya Dam in Laguna, .32 meters. –