Angat Dam water level drops to critical point

By George Trillo

NORZAGARAY, Bulacan– Authorities assured residents as far as Metro Manila Wednesday of continuous water supply after water elevation at Angat Dam dropped below the critical 180-meter level on Tuesday.

However, allocation for irrigation will be cut to maintain enough potable water supply for Metro Manila.

Antonio Nangel, National Irrigation Administration-Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System operations manager, said water elevation at the Pantabangan dam is sufficient, at 192 meters, to meet the irrigation needs of agricultural lands in Central Luzon.

This will be sufficient for the quick turnaround cropping of some 28,000 hectares in Central Luzon, Nangel said.

Mendel Garcia, Angat Watershed Area Team head, said Angat Dam continues to supply 36 cubic meters per second to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s concessionaires that distribute potable water to residents of Metro Manila and the provinces of Rizal and Cavite.

Water elevation at the dam drops by an average of one centimeter every hour, he added.
Garcia said water elevation at Angat Dam dropped to 179.75 meters at 9 a.m. on Tuesday April 13.

This is lower than the 179.94 meters recorded 24 hours earlier, he added.

Residents of Bulacan, especially those living in the cities of Meycauayan and San Jose del Monte, and the coastal town of Obando are depending on potable water from Maynilad Water Services Inc., Garcia said.

Dennis Gana, National Power Corp. spokesman, told The STAR they will totally cut allocation for irrigation to Bulacan and Pampanga farms starting today.
Napocor operates Angat Dam.

Since April 8, Angat Dam has been supplying eight centimeters to local farmers through the National Irrigation Administration, Gana said.

Water supplied to local farmers in the first two weeks of April was meant to sustain standing crops.

However, many farmers complained that as early as mid-March, water allocation was not enough for their rice crops.

Gana said while Angat Dam serves as flood control for Bulacan, its main purpose as stated in the Philippine Water Code is to provide potable water for Metro Manila.

Allocation for irrigation and power generation comes second and third, Gana said.

Meanwhile, Nangel said the UPRIIS can supply agricultural lands in Central Luzon with irrigated water within 60 days.

As such, they can harvest 30,000-40,000 cavans of palay per hectare, he added.

“By July, we will start with the wet cropping season,” he said, at which time the dam elevation is projected to be 188 meters.

In case no rains come by July or August, the Pantabangan Dam can still sustain the irrigation needs of agricultural lands in Central Luzon, he added.

Nangel said aside from providing water for Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Pampanga, UPRIIS is also supplying water to Maasim river in Bulacan.

The UPRIIS cannot provide water to Angat dam due to its high elevation, he added.