CITY OF MALOLOS — Metro Manila residents and farmers from Bulacan and parts of Pampanga are mostly assured of adequate potable water and irrigation supply these summer months despite the threath of the El Niño phenomenon these first and second quarter of the year.

These, after the water elevation of Angat Dam was monitored more than two meters above its ideal end-of-the-year water elevation of 212 meter.

Manuel Lukban Jr., provincial disaster risk reduction management office of Bulacan, said that based on their monitoring, the water elevation of Angat Dam as of January 1 was at 214.20 meter or 2.20 meters above its ideal end-of-the-year water level of 212.00 meter.

Normally if the water elevation of Angat Dam reaches 212 meter every December 31, the potable water supply requirement to Metro Manila residents and irrigation supply to the irrigated farmlands in Bulacan and parts of Pampanga for the summer months are assured.

Lukban noted that the dam has been releasing 50 cubic meter per second (CMS) of water for the domestic supply of Metro Manila while at the same time has raised its Spill Gate Number 2 at 0.50 meter high that discharging 20 CMS on its downstream river system resulting in a total outflow of 70 CMS.

Lukban added that the water elevation of Ipo Dam and Bustos Dam were monitored at 100.87 meter and 15.20 meter as against its spilling levels of 101.00 meter and 17.35 meter respectively.

The water discharge from Angat Dam resulted in the release of 34.20 CMS of water in its downstream river system leading to Bustos Dam, Lukban said.

The Bulacan PDRRMO officer added this resulted in raising Bustos Dam Sluice Gate 3 at 0.50 meter high that discharges 10 CMS on its downstream river system.

Meanwhile, Francisco Clara, chief of the water control and coordinating unit of Bustos Dam, has confirmed that they have started releasing irrigation water on January 1 to its north and south service irrigation zones to flush out garbages that have accumulated in its irrigation canals.

By January 2, regular irrigation supply to its service irrigation canals will start to flow for the 2024 dry rice cropping season, Clara added.

Photo: Mon Lazaro