Angat Dam water level improves slightly

MANILA, Philippines — The water level of Angat Dam increased by 58 centimeters following the rains brought by Tropical Storm Dodong but is still below the 180-meter minimum normal operating level, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

As of 6 a.m. on July 16, the water level of Angat Dam reached 179.06 meters or 0.58 meters more compared to its previous level of 178.48 meters.

Residents affected by the nine to 11 hours water interruption caused by the critical decrease in the water level of Angat Dam experienced four days of continuous supply after Maynilad Water Services Inc. implemented a 24-hour service from July 13 to 16 amid the rains experienced in many areas in the country.

“We did not implement this weekend, July 15 and 16, our scheduled daily water interruptions in areas in Caloocan, Malabon, Manila, Valenzuela, Navotas, and Quezon City. The rains brought by Dodong helped the Ipo watershed, that’s why we mitigated the impact of lower water allocation from the Angat Dam,” Maynilad said in an advisory.

Maynilad added that the daily water interruption will resume today, unless rains will still persist at the Ipo watershed in the next days.

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.

“We continue to encourage everyone to participate in the conservation to prolong the current water supply of Angat Dam,” Maynilad added.

On the other hand, the water level of Ipo Dam in Bulacan dropped by one centimeter after it reached 100.02 meters compared to its previous level of 100.03 meters.

Aside from Ipo Dam, the water level of Ambuklao Dam in Benguet also decreased by 0.09 meters after it reached 741.82 meters compared to its previous level of 741.91 meters.

The water level of Caliraya Dam in Laguna also fell by 0.06 meters as it reached 286.22 meters compared to its previous level of 286.28 meters.

Bustos Dam spill

Rains dumped by the southwest monsoon caused Bustos Dam in Bulacan to release excess water.

As of 7 a.m. on July 16, the water elevation of Bustos Dam was at 17.40 meters, higher than its spilling level of 17 meters.

The dam’s Sluice Gate 1 and Sluice Gate 2 have both been raised at 1.5 meters high and have been discharging a total of 78 cubic meters per second of water on its downstream river system.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Bulacan added that as of Sunday noon no villages in the province were reported to be inundated by floodwater and the flooded portions of MacArthur Highway were probably caused by the overflowing drainages.

Meanwhile, the water level of La Mesa Dam in Quezon City improved by 0.22 meters after it reached 78.99 meters compared to the previous 78.77 meters.

Binga Dam in Benguet at 568.58 meters is 0.22 meters more compared to its previous level of 568.36 meters. San Roque Dam in Pangasinan is at 237.765 meters or up by 1.12 meters compared to its previous level of 236.64 meters

Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija is at 179.77 meters or 0.76 meters more compared to its previous level of 179.01 meters, and Magat Dam in Isabela is at 164.08 meters or 0.52 meters more compared to its previous level of 163.56 meters.