Angat Dam water level continues to go down; PAGASA hopeful of May rains

The water level at Angat Dam went down further to 179.5 meters on Monday morning, a decrease of 0.47 meters from the reading on Sunday.

If it continues to go down, the dam's water level may hit 173.52 meters by the end of May, Adelaida Duran, hydrologist of PAGASA, said in an interview on GMA News' Unang Balita.

Angat Dam's low water level is at 180 meters. On Sunday morning, the water level dropped to 179.97 meters above the sea, the lowest level recorded this year so far.

Duran said when the water level at the dam becomes low, the priority for water allocation at Angat Dam is supplying water to the public rather than providing irrigation water.

"Pagka mababa ang tubig sa Angat, ang priority ay 'yung water supply," she said.

When asked what the critical level is for Angat Dam, Duran said it is set at 160 meters. At this level,  Angat Dam would not be able to provide enough supply for irrigation.

"Yung 160 po yung lowest water level...kasi kung ititigal na pati yung irrigation. Sa ngayon, kaya pa ng dam," Duran said in an interview on GMA News' Balitanghali.

She said that for the month of May, the National Water Resources Board made sure that the allocation for water supply for domestic use will not be decreased. 

Of the 4,000 million liters of water per day given by Angat Dam, 60% goes to Maynilad and 40% goes to Manila Water, Duran said.

For the past 50 years, Metro Manila has been relying heavily on Angat Dam as its main source of water. According to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, Metro Manila gets 96 percent of its water from the dam, 3 percent from Laguna Lake and only 1 percent from deep-well.

PAGASA, however, is expecting around 185 mm of rain in May over Angat, even with the mild El Niño phenomenon.

"Nagfo-forecast tayo ng malakas na pag-ulan sa Angat hanggang July... Inaasahang makaka-augment ito sa water level," Duran said.

She added however that the public should still heed advisories to conserve water. 

Some residents however expressed apprehension over the dwindling water supply, according to a separate report on Unang Balita.

Manila Water has said it is still working on restoring normal water supply to all its customers.

Meanwhile, the National Power Corporation will study whether the water allocation from Angat Dam for irrigation will be stopped or decreased. —with Joviland Rita/KG/BM, GMA News