In the know

The Angat dam, built in 1967, can store up to about 850 million cubic meters.

Fed by the Umiray Transbasin, Angat dam supplies 97 percent of the water needs of Metro Manila residents and most of the irrigation requirements of farms in Central Luzon.

From the Angat Dam, water flows through two concrete diversion tunnels down to the Ipo Dam which takes in water to deliver to the La Mesa Dam in Quezon City.

Its watershed, which spans 62,300-hectares, lies at the southernmost tip of the Sierra Madre mountain range and straddles the municipalities of Dona Remedios Trinidad, Norzagaray, and city of San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan province.

The Angat Watershed Reservation is home to some 500 indigenous Dumagat families. It is also the focus of major forest protection and conservation efforts. COMPILED BY: ANA ROA, INQUIRER RESEARCH

Sources: Inquirer Archives, denr.gov.ph

Read more...