‘Since it was raining during that quarter, we asked the National Water Resources Board to increase it to 214 meters. If we notice during the height of El Niño, we didn’t have severe water service interruptions because we’ve prepared for that’
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The moderate to heavy rains brought by typhoon “Aghon” have increased the water level (WL) of three major dams in Luzon that supply the water requirements of Metro Manila.
According to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), these are the Angat and Ipo Dams in Bulacan and the La Mesa Dam in Quezon City.
“These three dams have increased [its water level],” MWSS spokesperson, Engr. Patrick Dizon said Tuesday in a media forum in Quezon City.
“We were lucky enough that the typhoon we were monitoring passed through these dams,” he continued.
In the past few days, Angat Dam’s WL fell below its minimum operating level of 180 meters (m).
Dizon, however, said that due to “Aghon,” its current WL is increasing gradually.
The latest monitoring by the weather bureau PAGASA shows that as of 8 a.m. on Wednesday, its reservoir WL was 179.91 meters.
Not reaching
critical level
Moreover, Dizon expressed optimism that Angat Dam will not reach its critical level of 160 m.
“Based on our projection, it will not reach the critical level for this year because we have prepared,” he assured the public.
In 2010, during the El Niño phenomenon, it dropped to its lowest level, registering a WL of 157.76 m.
Dizon said the early multisectoral efforts helped alleviate the possible adverse effects of the dry season.
According to him, the MWSS last year was able to secure a two-meter elevation buffer stock in the said dam.
“What we did last year... because we have a normal high water level to maintain (which is 212 meters), we met that during the last quarter of the year from October [to] December,” Dizon said.
“That is the normal high water level maintained by our operator in Angat, which is the National Power Corporation. Since it was raining during that quarter, we asked the National Water Resources Board to increase it to 214 meters. If we notice during the height of El Niño, we didn’t have severe water service interruptions because we’ve prepared for that, ” he added.
For Ipo Dam, Dizon said its water level is maintained at its elevation level to avoid overflowing.
Its spilling level is 101.01 m. Currently, its WL is 99.93 m.
Dizon said that the Ipo Dam is only used to divert the water released from Angat Dam to their aqueducts.
La Mesa Dam, on the other hand, is, according to him, far from overspilling.
As of this writing, its WL is 75.48 m, 4.67 m far from its spilling level of 80.15 m.
