The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System assured the public on Tuesday that the continuing downward trend of Luzon dams is something not to be alarmed about amid the onslaught of El Niño forecast to prevail until May.

In a radio interview, an MWSS official said that this drop in water level is normal, especially during this drought season with the absence of rainfall.

"During this month, it is normal for our reservoir to drop because, from January to May, there is really no rain in the watersheds," said MWSS Division Manager Engr. Patrick James Dizon, while stressing that the main water source for reservoirs and watersheds is rain.

"When it comes from July to December, that's the time to refill the reservoirs so we can use something next year," he added.

Moreover, Dizon said that as early as November last year, the MWSS requested that the National Water Resources Board raise the normal high water level of Angat Dam to 214 meters from 212 meters.

"We have additional buffer meters so we can use something this summer," he said, adding that currently, the water allocation hasn't been deducted. "For the month of March, our allocation has not been reduced because PAGASA also said that our El Niño is also decaying. Hopefully, our reservoir will be able to recover."

The latest monitoring of PAGASA 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 206.35, a -0.08 decrease from the 206.43 RWL recorded the previous day at the same time.

Its present RWL is -5.65 short of its normal high water level, or NHWL, of 212.00 meters. Dizon said that the water level at Angat Dam drops to 19 centimeters per day.

The San Roque Dam in Pangasinan, however, registered the biggest drop in RWL in the past 24 hours, recording a -0.42 decline.

Its current RWL is 242.67 meters, which was 243.09 the previous day. Its present RWL is -37.33 lower than its 280.00 NHWL.

Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija also exhibited a -0.30 water level reduction from the RWL of 186.71 meters on Monday to the current RWL of 186.41 meters, a -34.59 shortfall from its NWHL of 221.00 meters.

Other Luzon dams that incurred a reduction in water level are the Magat Dam in Isabela, Caliraya Dam in Laguna Province, Ambuklao Dam in Benguet Province, Ipo Dam in Bulacan, and La Mesa Dam in Quezon City.

Meanwhile, the Binga Dam located in the Agno River is the only dam that registered an increased water level—to 569.54 from 569.13, equivalent to a 0.41 24-hour water level deviation.