The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) said the tunnel would be 6.3 kilometers long and run through the Ipo reservoir to the Bigte reservoir within the Angat Dam system.
MWSS said the new tunnel would make more efficient the flow of dam waters to Metro Manila, adding that the project is now referred to as the Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project.
This, even as the MWSS also announced the construction of a P1.08-billion five-meter thick concrete dikes to fortify three sections of the Angat Dam. This project is part of measures to protect it from the possibility of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that experts said could affect the dam area.
The dike concreting would be done in three sections, namely, the main dam cross section, main dike cross section, and the secondary dike cross section.
During his recent visit to the Angat Dam, Pres. Aquino had also announced the repair of the three old tunnels in the dam, but noted that a fourth tunnel was needed amid the increasing water demand in Metro Manila.
MWSS said 95 percent of Metro Manila’s water supply comes from Angat Dam which discharges water at the rate of 40 cubic meter per seconds which is coursed through tunnels towards distributers Maynilad and Manila Water, both private concessionaires of the MWSS.
