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 itong rule curve na ito sa mga ganitong panahon ay umaabot nang 195.05 [meters]. Ibig sabihin okay pa rin naman ang ating dam at manageable pa rin,” she said in a radio interview.

(Usually this rule curve in these times reaches 195.05 [meters]. That means our dam is still okay and still manageable.)

“Sa ngayon dahil sa epekto ng El Niño, at kahit hindi naman El Niño, normally at historically ay patuloy na bumababa ang ating dams at other dams during this time of the year, so sa ngayon ay manageable pa naman ang ating mga water level lalo na sa Angat,” she added.

(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.)

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.

“Sabi nga natin mina-manage natin nang maayos ang ating Angat para nang sa gayon at least pagkatapos ng epekto ng tinatawag nating El Niño at itong ating warm and dry season months, still, makaka-recover tayo just in time pagdating ng ating tag-ulan.”

(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 pre-develop in the coming months.

Solis said the criteria for La Niña Watch under the PAGASA’s El Niño-Southern 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.

“Nagpalabas ang PAGASA ng La Niña watch. Ito ay hindi nangangahulugan na magkakaroon na ng La Niña in an instant. Kapag La Niña watch, may posibilidad pa rin na hindi na tutuloy ang La Niña,” she said.

(PAGASA issued a La Niña watch; this doesn’t mean that there will be a La Niña in an instant. When issued a La Niña watch, there is still a possibility that La Niña will not continue.)

“Kapag nagtaas ang DoST-PAGASA ng La Niña alert, dun na natin medyo makikita na tuloy na or medyo confident na tayo na matutuloy ang La Niña,” she added.

(When DoST-PAGASA raises the La Niña alert, we will see that it will occur, or we will be somewhat confident that La Niña will continue.)