MWSS: Angat Dam water supply to meet demands despite continued decline

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) assured the public on Sunday that the water supply from Angat Dam remains enough to meet local demands, despite exhibiting a continued decline in reservoir water level (RWL).

According to MWSS spokesperson Engr. Patrick Dizon, currently, 90 percent of the water in Metro Manila, Rizal, portions of Cavite, and Bulacan comes from the said dam.

"Every day we monitor this lowering of the reservoir. During these months, our reservoir is really low because there is no rain in our watersheds," he said in a radio interview, adding that the downtrend of RWL is normal during these months, as like what happened in previous years, whether it's El Niño or La Niña.

"But when June, July, and August come, it goes up; that's because we will experience the rain in our watersheds. That's the time to refill," Dizon added.

Data from the weather state bureau PAGASA shows that as of 8 a.m. on Sunday, its RWL was recorded at 188.81 meters, 23.19 meters short of its normal high WL of 212.00 meters.

The MWSS official said that the agency keeps an eye on Angat Dam's two elevation levels: the minimum operating level, which is 180 meters, and the critical level, which is 160 meters.

"In our projection, it will not reach the critical level of 160 meters," he said.

Moreover, Dizon said that currently, Angat Dam is still able to provide sufficient water, so the public doesn't have the 'pila-balde' on the streets that was experienced in 2019.

"Right now, our water that comes from Angat (Dam) is still sufficient," Dizon said.

Located in Norzagaray, Bulacan, the Angat Dam supplies raw water to the majority of Metro Manila areas and irrigates about 28,000 hectares of farmland in Bulacan and Pampanga.