Angat Dam now below minimum operating level

The latest monitoring by weather bureau PAGASA on Thursday shows that the Angat Dam’s water level (WL) is now below its minimum operating level.

As of this writing, its reservoir WL is 179.68 meters (m), a 0.39 decrease from its 180.07 WL the previous day.

The minimum operating level of Angat Dam is 180 m.

Located in Norzagaray, Bulacan, it supplies potable water to the majority of Metro Manila areas and nearby provinces.

Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) spokesperson, Engr. Patrick Dizon, recently said that the isolated rains that occurred last Sunday helped in minimizing the daily average WL reduction in the Angat Dam—from 40 to 50 centimeters per day to just 16 centimeters on Sunday.

Moreover, Dizon earlier said that if no rains will occur in May and June, the Angat Dam will dip below its minimum operating level, but assured that it will not fall to its critical level of 160 m.

Other Luzon dams on a downslide

Likewise, the reservoir WL of other Luzon dams also decreased, based on PAGASA’s 24-hour monitoring.

Following the Angat Dam, the Caliraya Dam in Laguna incurred the next biggest WL reduction of -0.37 over a day, from its previous 286.63 m reservoir WL to the current 286.26 m reservoir WL.

San Roque Dam in Pangasinan, on the other hand, fell to 226.86 m from its previous 226.97 m elevation, indicating a -0.11 24-hour WL deviation.

Lastly, the La Mesa Dam in Quezon City recorded a 24-hour WL deviation of -0.03—having a 75.16 m reservoir WL—on Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. to an elevation of 75.13 m on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Ambuklao Dam in Benguet increased its WL overnight, from 742.39 m to now 742. 75 m water elevation.

Binga Dam in Agno River the water level is now at 566.54 m, a 0.14 rise from the registered 555.40 WL the previous day. The Magat Dam in Isabela also had a -0.09 increment (from 177.65 m to 177.74 m).

The Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija the WL is 0.05 WL up from its 174.29 WL elevation on Wednesday, and the Ipo Dam in Bulacan exhibited a modest rise of 0.02 WL from its 99.64 m elevation to now 99.66 m.