Angat dam being closely monitored due to fast rising water level

MANILA, Philippines – Angat dam in Bulacan was being closely monitored Friday due the continuously rising water level brought by strong rains upstream.

The monitored water level as of 11am was 212.96 meters, almost three meters above the normal high water level of 210 meters, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in its latest report.

By 1pm, the water level had risen to 213.29 meters due to strong rains upstream from the dam, Pagasa Hydrologist Elmer Caringal told Inquirer in a phone interview.

“We are in preparatory stage in case we need to open gates to release water,” he said. “Anytime we might announce the opening of gates.”

The amount of water that will be released from the gates will only be minimal so as not to add to the floods already being experienced in downstream Bulacan, he added.

He added that if there were no more rains, there would not be any need to open gates because there was still allowance between the normal high water level and actual spilling level of the dam.

It was a similar case with Magat dam in Laguna which has a water level of 191.63 meters, more than a meter above the normal high water level of 190 meters.

Magat dam was over the high water level but does not need to open gates because there were no rains feeding water into the dam. The water level there was actually decreasing since the dam uses water for power generation.