NWRB to keep lower water allocation for Metro Manila for entire July

MANILA, Philippines — The National Water Resources Board will keep the daily water allocation for Metro Manila concessionaires at 36 cubic meters per second for the whole of July even after the water level at Angat Dam saw a slight increase in the past few days.

NWRB director Sevillo David said they are not expecting that there will be enough rainfall in the coming days that will help improve the water level at Angat Dam.

"At least for the month of July, ‘yung 36 cms ‘yung nakikita natin because walang significant rainfall na dumarating, walang nakikita in the next two weeks," David said in a press briefing Wednesday.

(We will maintain the 36 cms water allocation at least for the month of July because there is no significant rainfall, no sufficient rainfall is expected in the next two weeks.)

“We’ll wait for the last two weeks of July kung magkakaroon ng significant development base sa projection ng PAGASA na may darating na pag-ulan. We’ll see by the [end] of July kung magkakaroon ng adjustment sa August,” he added. 

(We’ll wait for the last two weeks of July if there will be significant development based on PAGASA’s projection. We’ll see by the end of July if there will be an adjustment in August.)

Water allocation for concessionaires Maynilad Water Services and Manila Water has been slashed to 36 cms from 40 cms when Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan breached its 160-meter critical level last June 22. The current allocation is a huge cut from the average allocation of 48 cms on normal days.

The reduction in water allocation resulted in rotational service interruptions in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

In a statement, Maynilad said “it will only be able to lift the daily water service interruptions once it receives the appropriate raw water allocation from Angat Dam.”

Above critical level

Thanks to continuous monsoon rains in recent days, the water level at Angat Dam slightly went up above the critical level—at 161.08 meters as of early Wednesday morning.

The latest reading is 0.79 meter above the 160.29 meter recorded Tuesday. This, however, is still way below the operational level of 180 meters.

David said the allocation for the agriculture sector will resume only when Angat Dam reaches 180 meters. NWRB started reducing allocation for farms last April and eventually removed it earlier this month.

PAGASA predicted Angat Dam could return to its operational state by September. Two to three tropical cyclones are expected to hit the country this month. — Gaea Katreena Cabico