ANGAT DAM'S WATER ELEVATION. Angat Dam’s water level as of 8 a.m. on Thursday (Dec. 5, 2019) is at 194.58 meters, which is 17.42 meters below its ideal end-of-the-year water level of 212 meters. Sevillo David Jr., executive director of the National Water Resources Board, said the present water level is still not enough to allocate irrigation supply for farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga. (File photo by Manny Balbin)
CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan -- The water elevation of Angat Dam is rising due to the rains brought by Typhoon Tisoy (Kammuri) but not enough to fully irrigate farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga.
Sevillo David Jr., executive director of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), said the dam’s water level is at 194.58 meters as of 8 a.m. on Thursday. This is 14.58 meters above its minimum operating level of 180 meters but still 17.42 meters below its ideal end-of-the-year water level of 212 meters to satisfy the requirements of the water supply for irrigation.
“We are now analyzing the possible scenarios of Angat Dam for the current year until next year if we can address the requirements of irrigation's dry cropping season,” David said in an interview.
He earlier said the priority for water coming from Angat Dam is the domestic water consumption for Metro Manila residents, second is for power generation for electricity, and third for irrigation supply to Bulacan farmlands and some parts of Pampanga.
Water coming from Angat Dam is the main source of water for irrigated farmlands and is being released through Bustos Dam that manages its distribution to more than 17,000 hectares of rice lands in Bulacan and more than 9,000 hectares in Pampanga being tilled by more than 20,000 farmers.
Josephine Salazar, National Irrigation Administration regional director for Central Luzon, said they are still waiting for the decision of the NWRB if there will be irrigation water allocation coming from Angat Dam for this dry-cropping palay season. (PNA)
