THE National Water Resources Board (NWRB) will decide next week on the water allocation for Metro Manila, amid warnings by the state weather bureau of a possible water shortage in the next few months.
“The [NWRB] will finalize the allocation for April next week,” the board’s Executive Director Sevillo David Jr. told the Inquirer in a text message.
He said they were closely monitoring the water supply situation and will inform the public of any changes.
For now, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) continues to get 48 cubic meters per second, David said. The MWSS then distributes the water to its concessionaires Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co.
David said this allocation varies according to the supply in Angat Dam, where Metro Manila and its nearby provinces get their water.
But the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Tuesday warned that the water level at Angat Dam has been dropping.
In an online climate outlook forum, Pagasa hydrologist Richard Orendain said the water could decrease to less than the minimum operating standard of 180 meters above sea level (masl) by mid-May.
He said this was far from the “normal high water level” of 212 masl.
By the end of April, the supply could dip to 182 masl before it further drops to 173 to 175 masl, Orendain said.
He noted that there may not be enough rainfall to fill the dam by July, when the rainy season is supposed to have begun.
On Tuesday, the water was recorded at 192.94 masl, lower than 193.27 masl the previous day.
Pagasa Administrator Vicente Malano also confirmed that “the water level [in Angat] is decreasing.”
Malano said cloud seeding operations have been conducted in the Angat river basin area since Monday.
Angat Dam also provides the allocation for irrigation in farmlands in the provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan, where the dam is located.
But irrigation is cut off when the supply falls below the minimum operating level.
Meanwhile, the two concessionaires as well as the NWRB have appealed to the public for its responsible use of water during the dry season. (©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2022/Frances Mangosing, Jordeene B. Lagare)
