Gov’t to public: Save water, don’t panic

Hospitals have cut down on some vital services, carwash establishments have suspended operations, and entire cities have been warned of little or no water supply. But despite the worsening water woes, the government yesterday assured the public that there will be adequate water in Metro Manila.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), however, said the water level in La Mesa Dam continues to inch below critical level.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) gave assurance that measures are in place to ensure adequate water supply for all. NDRRMC executive director Ricardo

Jalad said representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-National Water Resource Board (DENR-NWRB) and from Angat Dam had a meeting yesterday, during which it was revealed that the dam in Bulacan is still within its normal operating level of 199.94 meters compared to its minimum operating level at 180 meters.

Angat Dam is the main source of water in Metro Manila.

“This (shows) that Angat Dam can sufficiently address Metro Manila’s water requirements,” Jalad said.

So why are large areas of Metro Manila suffering from an acute water lack?

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) explained that the decline in La Mesa Dam’s water level is caused by the increase in water treatment production of Manila Water.

Jalad said that the water allocation of Manila Water from MWSS sourced from Angat Dam is 18.5 cubic meters per second, or 1,600 million liters per day.

The water demand from Manila Water consumers, however, has increased to 20.25 cms (1,750 million liters per day), forcing the concessionaire to source the deficit from La Mesa Dam.

PAGASA hydrologist Sonia Serrano said there was a reduction of 0.05 meters of water from the 68.79 meters recorded on Wednesday.

PAGASA said that as of 6 a.m. yesterday, the water level in the dam was at 68.74 meters below the critical level of 69 meters.

That level is 11.41 meters below the normal level of 80.15 meters, based on the Dam Water Level Update table of PAGASA.

Serrano added that level is also the lowest mark PAGASA recorded in 21 years.

She said it was in 1998, the hottest year on record, when PAGASA recorded water level in La Mesa Dam to be at 68.75 meters.

Remedies

Jalad said a technical working group composed of the NWRB, MWSS, National Irrigation Authority (NIA), Manila Water and Maynilad has committed to continue their close coordination to ensure that water supply releases from Angat Dam are optimized.

Jalad said the cross border gate opening shall be done in which 50 million liters of water daily (MLD) from Maynilad will be delivered to Manila Water.

MWSS also presented a contingency plan which includes, among others, the rotation water supply and pressure management, energizing the Cardona Water Treatment plant by the end of this month. The Cardona Water Treatment plant is expected to provide an additional 50 MLD.

Manila Water, which services the east zone of Metro Manila, has cut supply in several areas supposedly because the water level in La Mesa Dam dropped due to lack of rain and high demand.

All areas under the east concession zone would experience six to 18 waterless hours.

But the MWSS did not buy such excuse, saying Manila Water sources its water from Angat Dam, which has not reached its critical level of 195 meters.

The Ayala-led water concessionaire claimed that it had already maximized its water allocation from Angat Dam, which is 1,600 MLD as the demand had reached 1,700 MLD.

Manila Water claimed it now gets its reserve supply of 80 to 100 MLD from La Mesa, now below critical level.

West zone concessionaire Maynilad has vowed to provide additional supply to Manila Water to ease the water shortage in Metro Manila and nearby areas by April.

Maynilad will be sharing 50 MLD with Manila Water, which will benefit up to 50,000 households in Quezon City, Parañaque City and Taguig City.

Explain shortage

Malacañang yesterday urged concerned agencies to explain the cause of the insufficient water supply in Metro Manila.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said he also wanted to know whether the reported water crisis was real.

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