Pagasa: Dam water levels start to decrease
Photo shows the receding water at Angat Dam. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Water levels in several major Luzon dams continued to decline as of May 15, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
This is amid days of high heat index forecast and lingering concerns over the possible onset of El Niño in the coming months.
READ: Dam Watch: Water levels dip in key dams as El Niño threat looms
Most of the country’s major reservoirs recorded lower elevations compared to Thursday’s levels, continuing a trend that experts earlier warned could worsen if dry conditions persist through the rainy season transition.
Angat Dam, which is the primary water source for Metro Manila, fell further to 178.52 meters (m) on Thursday from 178.85 m a day earlier, remaining below its operating level of 180 m and far below its normal high water level of 210 m.
Located in Bulacan, Angat Dam supplies about 90 percent of Metro Manila’s raw water needs and irrigates thousands of hectares of farmland in Bulacan and Pampanga.
Ipo Dam, another key component of Metro Manila’s water system, declined to 99.99 m from 100.06 m, while La Mesa Dam in Quezon City slightly dropped to 79.86 m from 79.87 m.
Pagasa’s latest monitoring also showed lower water levels in several hydroelectric dams in northern and Central Luzon.
Ambuklao Dam in Benguet slipped to 740.10 m from 740.17 m; Binga Dam dropped sharply by 0.71 m to 566.32 m from 567.03 m; San Roque Dam in Pangasinan declined to 228.65 m from 228.81 m; and Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija fell to 189.06 m from 189.33 m.
Indexes
The continuing decline in reservoir elevations comes as the country experiences extreme heat conditions, with heat indexes in several areas reaching dangerous levels in recent days.
On Friday alone, 45 cities experienced danger-level heat indexes (42 Celsius to 51 C).
Hydroelectric dams are especially being monitored closely because reduced water elevations may also affect electricity generation capacity during periods of high power demand.
During the past days, both the Luzon and Visayas grids were also placed on red and yellow alerts following insufficient power supply during peak hours and as operating reserves fell below contingency requirements, causing outages in some areas.
Meanwhile, Magat Dam in Isabela was among the few reservoirs that posted an increase, rising to 182 m from 181.69 m. Caliraya Dam in Laguna also increased to 285.99 m from 285.70 m.
