The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) on Thursday said more than 600 barangays (villages) in Metro Manila are getting ready for lower water supply by June as the water reserve in Angat Dam is expected to fall to a critical level.
MWSS senior deputy administrator Macra Cruz told reporters that the water level in Angat Dam has been going down at a rate of .25 to .30 meters a day.
As of 8 a.m.on February 17, Angat Dam's water level was at 196.41 meters, and they expect it to fall to a critical level of 180 meters by May or April.
Angat Dam, a multi-purpose reservoir in Bulacan province, supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila's raw water requirements and irrigates more than 20,000 hectares of rice land in that province.
Cruz said if Angat Dam's water level drops to 180 meters, regulators would have to stop allocating water for irrigation. The remaining water would be used solely for Metro Manila's water supply.
She said the volume of water being supplied daily to Metro Manila amounts to 4,000 million liters at an average of 46 cubic meters per second.
Cruz said because of Angat Dam's unusually low water level, they have been forced to lower the delivery of water to the metropolis to 40 cubic meters per second affecting a few barangays.
At 170 meters, Angat Dam would not be able to provide the 97 percent water requirement of Metro Manila.
She said water supply in 584 barangays that fall under the jurisdiction of Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MWSI) and 50 more barangays in the east sector being supplied by Manila Water Company (MWC) will be affected. - Philippine News Agency
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=25601.0