The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System said the capacity of Angat Dam, Metro Manila’s main water source, remains sufficient to avert any looming water crisis even during the El Niño months.

MWSS administrator Leonor Cleofas told reporters on Tuesday that recent simulations conducted by a technical working group showed that Angat Dam will remain “at the comfortable level” throughout the dry months.

The technical working group is chaired by the National Water Resources Board and members, including the MWSS and the National Irrigation Administration along with other water stakeholders.

“We can say that Angat Dam is at a comfortable level. In a simulation to identify what our elevation will be come August or the end of the summer season, our prognosis is still good, our water level is still high,” Cleofas said.

The water elevation level of Angat Dam on Tuesday reached 203.25 meters, still far from its minimum operating level of 180 meters. Its spilling level is 217 meters.

Kaliwa Dam needed for security

While the MWSS assures that no crisis will happen during summertime when the demand is historically high, Cleofas said the delayed Kaliwa Dam remains the only viable and long-term solution to the increasing water demand in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

“If we deliver Kaliwa Dam, we will be reaching comfortable water security up to 2050 and beyond,” she stressed.

Cleofas said project contractor China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited has vowed to work round-the-clock to complete the project by 2026 and start commissioning the dam by early 2027.

Kaliwa Dam is a 70-meter-high concrete gravity dam on the Kaliwa River that will have a reservoir surface area of 291 hectares. It will have a maximum gross reservoir volume of 57 million cubic meters and a discharge capacity of 600 million liters a day.