MALOLOS CITY—The National Power Corporation (Napocor) is confident that water elevation at the Angat Dam will not hit 165 meters below sea level (masl), and the dam will continue to supply 42 cubic meters per second to (cms) to Metro Manila.
This came even as cloud seeding operation is temporarily stopped and water elevation at the dam dropped to 170 masl, as of 8 a.m. Monday. In Bustos Dam, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) failed to supply water to local
ricelands as the cropping season started also on Monday.
Engr. Rodolfo German, general manager of the Angat River Hydroelectric Power Plant (ARHEPP) of the Napocor, said intermittent rains have contributed to the dam’s reserved water supply despite failing to increase its water level.
“Patuloy pa rin ang pagbaba, pero mabagal na, at kulang pa rin ang ulan,” he said. German said that with the onset of the rainy season, it will just be a matter of days before the dam’s water level starts “I believe di na bababa pa sa 165 meters ang level niyan, tag-ulan na kasi.” He said.
The ARHEPP general manager also said that proposed reduction of allocation to Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s (MWSS) concessionaires is now out of the question. At present, Angat Dam provides a total of 42 cms to MWSS concessionaires that distribute potable water to Metro Manila.
German admitted that it was considered a month ago to reduce water allocation to Metro Manila, but it depended on available rainfall brought by the onset of the rainy season. He also said that cloud seeding operation over Angat Dam has been stopped with the start of the rainy season.
He said that personnel of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) have completed more than 30 of the planned 60 flight hours of cloud seeding operations. While Angat Dam’s water elevation remain below the 180 meters critical level, allocation for farm irrigation remained suspended.
