Angat Dam water level continues to drop

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – Water elevation at the Angat Dam continues to drop despite cloud seeding operations that started in the third week of January.

Engineer Rodolfo German, general manager of the Angat River hydroelectric power plant, is confident though that there will be enough water for the summer months.

However, Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado insisted on continuing the cloud seeding operations to avoid a repeat of what happened last year when the dam’s water level dropped to an all-time low of 157 meters.

The Bureau of Soils and Water Management started cloud seeding over Angat Dam on the third week of January to take advantage of the cloudy weather.

But the move seemed ineffective, as it rained in lowland parts of Bulacan while the dam’s water level continued to drop.

Last Saturday, water elevation at the dam dropped to 199 meters from 202 meters in the third week of January.

German said the current water elevation at the dam is higher than last year’s, adding that there is nothing to worry with the early onset of the rainy season.

However, Alvarado is not taking any chances, saying he has written German and Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala to continue the cloud seeding operations while there are still clouds over Angat Dam.