Water release from Angat Dam continues

MALOLOS, Philippines — The spill gates of Angat Dam remained open yesterday even as the water level slightly decreased.

Records from the Bulacan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) showed that the water level in the dam was at 213 meters yesterday compared to 213.05 meters on Saturday.

The drop in the water level is said to be due to a bigger volume that had been discharged.

At least 136 cubic meters per second of water was released yesterday compared to the previous day’s 75 cms.

The PDRRMO said three spill gates were opened at 0.5 meters each. Only two gates were opened the previous day.

Josephine Salazar, National Irrigation Administration-Central Luzon director, said water discharge from Ipo Dam also increased yesterday at 144.08 cms compared to the previous day’s 85.20 cms.

On the other hand, the water level in Bustos Dam increased to 16.60 meters yesterday compared to 15.20 meters on Saturday.

Sluice Gate 3, which was opened by one meter, discharged 26 cms of water on its downstream river compared to the previous day’s 10 cms of water.

Last week, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System said it requested the National Water Resources Board to consider allowing the Angat reservoir to reach 214 meters to provide an extra buffer for its operations.