The island of Luzon has been affected by local thunderstorms, easterlies, and the southwest monsoon since May, but the dams are still recovering according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
“Hindi sapat yung thunderstorm o yung ulan. So minsan may time na bumababa pa rin siya, minsan pag sobrang lakas medyo makaka-recover ng konti…tataas [Thunderstorms or rain have not been enough. Sometimes the water level of dams still decrease, sometimes if the rain is strong, they will slightly recover],” PAGASA Hydrologist Juan Elmer S. Caringal said in a phone interview.
Angat dam, which provides 90% of Metro Manila’s water supply, further declined to 177.72 meters, which is 32.28 meters lower than the 210-meter normal high-water level, Friday morning (June 14).
Meanwhile, the Ipo dam inched down to 100.05 meters, which is 0.95 meters lower than the 101.00 meters normal high-water level.
La Mesa Dam has lowered to 76.10 meters compared to 80.15 meters normal level, or a 4.05 meters decline.
In the upcoming months, an upward trend in the water levels at Angat, Ipo, and La Mesa dam is expected, Mr. Caringal explained.
“Based on historical data namin, lahat yung annual data namin, ang Angat Dam (Ipo and La Mesa) is nakakaka-recover siya, or nagsisimula siyang tumaas [Based on our historical data and all of our annual data, the Angat Dam, Ipo and La Mesa dams are recovering, or starting to go up],” Mr. Caringal said.
As long as the water level in Angat dam remains constant, there will be no issues with the Ipo and La Mesa dams, as they source water from Angat, he added.
However, for the other five dams, the periods of water level recovery could vary depending on the topography of the dam and the amount of rainfall it gets.
For the other five dams, here are the current and normal water levels, and its difference from the normal water level as of Friday (June 14):
Ambuklao- 742.37 meters; 752 meters (Difference: 9.63 meters)
Binga- 570.70 meters; 575 meters (Difference: 4.30 meters)
San Roque- 227.68 meters; 280 meters (Difference: 52.32 meters)
Pantabangan- 177.18 meters; 216 meters (Difference: 38.82 meters)
Magat Dam- 180.64 meters; 190 meters (Difference: 9.36 meters)
Caliraya- 286. meters (No data available for the normal high-water level)
PAGASA Hydrologist Caringal encouraged the public to save water to help dams reach normal high-water levels. - Edg Adrian A. Eva
