WHEN IN DROUGHT The potable water supply of more than 10 million residents in Metro Manila takes precedence over irrigation with the drop in Angat Dam’s water level, which fell further to 179.67 meters (inset). This has led to the stopping of the supply of water for the irrigation of some 27,000 hectares of farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga provinces. LEO M. SABANGAN II
MANILA, Philippines – The water level in Angat Dam continues to fall below its critical level on Saturday, Manila Water Company said.
The water concessionaire said in its Twitter account that the dam, which services majority of Metro Manila’s water supply, hit 178.53 meters as of 8 a.m. on Saturday, from 178.92 meters on Friday. The critical level is at 180 meters.
Manila Water services the east zone of the metro (Pasig, Taguig, Makati, Mandaluyong, Cubao & Balara inQuezon City, Marikina, San Juan and Antipolo-Rizal).
Meanwhile the water level in La Mesa dam hit 77.96 meters, from 78.08 meters.
Water level in Ipo dam dropped to 99.45 meters, from 99.42 meters.
<blockquote lang=”en”><p>DAM LEVELS AS OF MAY 17 8AM ANGAT 178.53 LA MESA 77.96 IPO 99.45</p>— Manila Water (@ManilaWaterPH) <a href=”https://twitter.com/ManilaWaterPH/statuses/467469314807693312″>May 17, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote lang=”en”><p>DAM LEVELS AS OF MAY 16 8AM: ANGAT=178.92 LA MESA=78.08 IPO=99.42</p>— Manila Water (@ManilaWaterPH) <a href=”https://twitter.com/ManilaWaterPH/statuses/467097563716272128″>May 16, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Some of the water in Angat Dam flows to Ipo Dam and then to La Mesa Dam in Quezon City, providing 97 percent of Metro Manila’s water requirements, while the rest flow to Bustos Dam in Bulacan, irrigating the farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga.
The lowest water level of Angat dam is 157.56 meters in 2010.
As the water level in major dam drops, Maynilad, which services the west zone of Metro Manila, has announced water interruptions in their areas of concession.
The receding water level of Angat dam comes amid the El Niño phenomenon that the country’s weather bureau Pagasa (Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) expects to happen in June.
Pagasa said El Niño occurred due to unusually warm ocean surface temperatures in the Pacific, affecting the normal rainfall pattern in the country. During El Niño, different parts of the country will experience varying amounts of rainfall, with some areas becoming dry.
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