MWSS: You see, rain dance worked

MANILA, Philippines — The Dumagat indigenous group’s rain dance at the Angat Dam on July 11 seemed to work as rain poured in many areas of the Philippines.

“I’m happy to say that I believe that the ancestors heard our indigenous group after they performed a rain dance on Monday,” Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) administrator Leonor Cleofas said yesterday in a radio interview.

The state weather bureau reported a low-pressure area in Infanta, Quezon, where the Angat-Umiray-Ipo watersheds system is located.

As of Thursday morning, Angat Dam’s water level dropped to 178.03 meters, from 178.21 meters the day previous.

The normal operating level of Angat Dam is 180 meters.

“Based on our projection and augmentation measures, we have no reason to worry,” Cleofas said.

Cleofas apologized to Maynilad Water Services Inc. customers affected by the hours-long daily water service interruption that started on July 12.

Service interruptions had to be set due to the National Water Resources Board’s 48 cubic meters per second water allocation, a result of Angat Dam’s declining water level.

Angat Dam supplies more than 90 percent of Metro Manila’s potable water needs and provides for the irrigation needs of 25,000 hectares of farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga.

Based on the projection of the Angat technical working group, the lowest water level of the reservoir will be 174 meters, Cleofas said.

“We do not think Angat Dam will drop to 157 meters just like what happened in 2010 as we now have additional augmentation measures,” she said.

They are expecting Angat Dam to reach a 210-meter water level by yearend, Cleofas said.

“By August or September, we expect that the water elevation of Angat Dam will improve based on the projection of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA),” she added.

Cleofas said that PAGASA still expects strong typhoons despite the El Niño phenomenon.

Manila Water plan

Meanwhile, Manila Water Co. Inc. yesterday bared its plans to mitigate the impact of El Niño on water supply outside Metro Manila.

In a statement, Manila Water said its operating subsidiary Manila Water Philippine Ventures has tailored specific mitigation strategies in areas where it operates.

Laguna Water, one of Manila Water’s largest business units in the non-east zone, has been working since January to reduce its non-revenue water (NRW) from 30 percent to 20 percent.

The business unit’s NRW is at 28 percent as of May.

Boracay Water will install a surface water level indicator at the Nabaoy River, the lone water source of Boracay Island, to regularly monitor the river’s condition and water elevation.

Pipe replacement projects in Barangays Yapak and Balabag will also be implemented in the next months to recover 1.8 million liters of NRW per day by November.

Other capital expenditure programs are also being implemented to ensure the operation of standby deep wells, management of pressure and adjustment of variable frequency drive as needed, regular maintenance works for pumps, tanks and generator sets and operation of line boosters.

Manila Water is preparing for an assumed 10 percent water supply reduction during El Niño, projected to last until early 2024.

“We would like to restate our calls for the responsible use of water, not just in the East Zone of Metro Manila but to all Filipinos in each part of the country,” said Manila Water non-east zone chief operating officer Melvin John Tan.

Manila Water has operating units in several cities and provinces – the Metro Ilagan Water, Calasiao Water, North Luzon Water, Clark Water, Bulakan Water, Obando Water, Laguna Water and South Luzon Water in Luzon; Boracay Water, Calbayog Water and Cebu Water in Visayas, and Tagum Water in Mindanao.

For its part, the state-run National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said its field offices nationwide have crafted their respective El Niño Action Plans.

NIA’s strategies for El Niño include weekly monitoring of dam hydrological data and dam discharge, adjustment of the planting calendar during the wet season, and educational and communication activities.

The agency also requested water pumps and shallow tube wells to provide for the irrigation needs of El Niño vulnerable areas.

The Department of Agriculture provided P18.925 million worth of agricultural interventions to Irrigators Associations in Batac, Ilocos Norte on June 13 to improve farm production activities in the province.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, up to 46 provinces could be impacted by El Niño while Ilocos Norte, Bataan and Cavite would be greatly affected.

Water Resources Dep’t

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda reiterated the need to create a Department of Water Resources to solve the country’s decades-old water problem.

“Many people don’t get it. It’s not just another new agency. It’s an institutional solution to a decades-old problem of treating water resources as a peripheral and dispersed concern for government,” Salceda said on Thursday.

“The most economic point-of-view here is simple: we need agriculture to be more efficient with water use. That’s the most immediate, effective, and economical demand management solution. So, we need to invest in more precise irrigation, so that we don’t waste all that water,” he advised.

Bulacan dams

The rehabilitation of Bustos Dam and Bulo Dam in Bulacan is expected to begin this year and the construction of Bayabas Dam is now up for bidding, according to a text message to The STAR by NIA Region 3 regional manager Josephine Salazar.

Bustos Dam serves the irrigation supply to at least 25,000 hectares in Bulacan and parts of Pampanga. Bulo Dam and Bayabas Dam serve as irrigation and flood control to the towns of Doña Remedios Trinidad and San Miguel.

Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando had warned Bustos Dam contractors in September last year that they would face civil and criminal cases if they did not repair the dam.

Replacement rubber gates for Bustos Dam are undergoing testing in China and could be installed in November this year, Salazar said.

Harvesting rain

Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. on Thursday claimed that rainwater harvesting facilities are long-term solutions to El Niño.

Revilla’s proposal last year sought the construction of rainwater catchments in new institutional, commercial, industrial and residential development projects in Metro Manila.

“Rainwater harvesting is an innovative technology proven effective in resolving water problems in other countries such as India,” Revilla said. – Danessa Rivera, Delon Porcalla, Ramon Efren Lazaro, Marc Jayson Cayabyab