BUSTOS, Bulacan –– Angat Dam will allocate irrigation water for 11 southern Bulacan towns on June 1, according to an official of the National Irrigation Administration.
The National Water Resources Board allowed Angat’s operators to discharge 15 cubic-meter-per-second of water for 6,488 hectares of 7,500 farmers in the towns of Angat, Pandi, Bustos, Bocaue, Balagtas, Plaridel, Guiguinto, Bulakan, Calumpit, and Paombong, and the City of Malolos, said Francisco Clara, acting chief of the NIA Water Control and Coordination Unit.
These towns were deprived of irrigation water when the northern farms in Bulacan and Pampanga towns were prioritized, as the dam grappled with its dwindling reservoir.
But NIA stopped sending water to the farms on April 30 to maintain the potable water supply for Metro Manila.
On Thursday, Angat’s reservoir level rose to 190.77 meters above sea level (masl) due to rains brought by Typhoon “Ambo” last week. The dam needs more rainwater to reach its high-spilling level of 212 masl.