WATERLESS IN THE CITY As the lack of water becomes acute in certain Metro Manila areas due to El Niño, apartment owners queue to fill pails, jugs, containers and even plastic storage boxes with water from a delivery truck inside a 25-building condominium complex in Mandaluyong City on Sunday night. —ROBERT JAWORSKI L. ABAÑO
Water rationing in the service area of Manila Water Co. now affects 273 barangays in 18 towns and cities in Metro Manila and Rizal province as the water level in La Mesa Dam continues to recede.
Manila Water said rationing in the east zone was needed so that available supply would last over the next two or three months.
Customers would get water but at reduced volumes until the rainy season, it said.
Manila Water gets most of its supply from La Mesa Dam in Novaliches, Quezon City.
As of 6 a.m. on Monday, water in the dam dipped to 68.93 meters, falling below the “critical” level of 69 meters and approaching the last record low of 68.75 meters in 1998.
Angat Dam water
Maynilad Water Services Inc. said its supply was not affected by the dry spell just yet as it was getting water directly from Angat Dam in Bulacan province.
Maynilad supplies water to the west zone, which covers mostly Manila, parts of Quezon City and Makati City, and Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon cities, and certain areas in Cavite province.
Water level in Angat Dam was 200.59 meters on Monday morning, still more than 20 meters above the critical level.
“Unless the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) reduces allocation for MWSS (Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System), Maynilad should have enough supply to sustain the needs of its customers throughout the summer months,” said Jennifer Rufo, head of corporate communications at Maynilad.
“But assuming that water level in the Angat Dam goes down and the NWRB is forced to reduce allocation, Maynilad has mitigating measures in place,” Rufo said.
More reservoirs
Since El Niño of 2010—one of the worst on record—Maynilad had been working to improve its water storage capacity, she said.
“From only 12 reservoirs in 2010, we now have 32,” Rufo said. “This essentially gives us more reserve water, assuming there is supply shortage from the source.”
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) expects the water level in La Mesa to reach the record low levels in 1998, especially since the dry season has yet to officially begin.
Pagasa hydrologist Elmer Caringal said the rainy season that would boost the water supply at La Mesa was expected to be delayed until August.
“If we don’t regulate [the current water supply], if we’re not frugal, we can expect an even worse water shortage” than the interruptions being implemented by the water concessionaires, Caringal said.
Infusions from Angat
Decreasing supply levels in dams are normal during the dry season, with abnormally low water level in La Mesa usually addressed by infusions from Ipo Dam, which in turn, gets an inflow from Angat Dam.
But Caringal said infusions from Angat Dam were not enough now, because demand was increasing.
While increasing the limit may seem an obvious option, the hydrologist said doing so may also risk Angat Dam’s water level.
Caringal deferred to the NWRB, the agency in charge of water resources in the country, to assess the best course of action.
NWRB officials on Monday afternoon were meeting with executives of MWSS, the government agency that regulates private water concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad.
Ipo Dam’s water levels remained healthy at 101.02 meters as of Monday.
Laguna Lake
Water level in Laguna Lake is likely to hit its critical low level in two months’ time, the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) said.
The 90,000-hectare lake is a major source of water for households. Manila Water and Maynilad draw a combined average of 450 million liters daily from the lake.
As of Monday, the LLDA’s water level monitoring showed the water elevation at 11.1 meters, or just 0.6 meter above the critical level. The critical low level is 10.5 meters.
“Right now we’re still okay. But should there be no rains [in the coming weeks], the water still may go down,” said LLDA hydrologist Emil Hernandez.
He said the water was receding at a rate of 0.3 meter a month.
MWSS Administrator Reynaldo Velasco asked consumers to use water wisely.
“Since we primarily source our water from Angat-Ipo-La Mesa water system, we have to do our share to help lessen the effect of El Niño not only on our need for water in our households and industries but also on agriculture,” Velasco said in a statement.
Cloud seeding set
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said he had directed the Department of Agriculture’s regional offices to implement cloud seeding operations.
Piñol said the department would coordinate with the Philippine Air Force for cloud seeding over Bulacan, Pampanga and Rizal provinces in order “to fill up La Mesa Dam.”
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo called on water service providers to improve information dissemination on the schedule of water interruptions in parts of Metro Manila. —WITH A REPORT FROM JULIE M. AURELIO