CITY OF MALOLOS –– The water level at Angat Dam dropped below 190 meters above sea level (masl), due to the extreme summer heat and the prolonged absence of rain.
The dam supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s drinking water, but reservoir water began to recede on May 3 when it reached 189.92 masl.
As of Friday, the reservoir contained 189.06 meters of water, just nine meters above the dam’s low level of 180 masl, and way below its spilling level of 212 masl.
Two dams that catch Angat’s runoff rainwater and its water discharges also reflected dwindling water levels.
Ipo Dam registered a low 99.87 meters, from 99.91 meters on May 3. Its spilling level is 101 masl.
Bustos Dam on May 3 had 15.41 meters of reservoir water, which was far below its 17.50-meter spilling level.
On Friday, its level dropped to 14.80 meters, while it undergoes repairs that were started on Thursday, said Felix Robles, officer-in-charge of the National Irrigation Administration water control coordinating unit in Bulacan.
Water supply for farmers tending northern plantations in Bulacan and Pampanga have been cut since April 30.
As much as 21,000 hectares of farmlands in 17 Bulacan towns and 4 towns in Pampanga rely on Angat for irrigation.
Irrigation was released to southern farms in Bulacan to de-clog waterways and canals, Robles said.
Early this year, the southern farms did not get any water when the National Water Resources Board prioritized supply to Manila.
The southern plantations would get irrigation on June 1, while northern farms would get irrigation supply on July 1, Robles said.