CITY OF MALOLOS – The rainfall from Typhoon Enteng has increased the water elevation of Angat Dam as of Tuesday, September 3.

In response, Ipo and Bustos Dams have reduced their water releases as of September 3 compared to the previous day.

According to records from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office of Bulacan, the water elevations on Tuesday morning were 187.60 meters for Angat Dam, 100.54 meters for Ipo Dam, and 17.34 meters for Bustos Dam, compared to the previous day’s 183.56 meters, 101.30 meters, and 17.33 meters, respectively.

Angat Dam’s water level is 7.60 meters above its minimum operating level of 180.00 meters but is still 24.40 meters below its normal high water level.

Meanwhile, Ipo and Bustos Dams have reduced their water releases. Josephine Salazar, regional director of the National Irrigation Administration in Central Luzon, stated that by 1:00 PM on Monday, Ipo Dam was releasing 221.70 cubic meters per second (CMS) of water, but this was reduced to 33.20 CMS by Tuesday morning.

Similarly, Bustos Dam’s water release was 1,300 CMS late Monday afternoon but was reduced to 134 CMS by 1:00 PM on Tuesday. Salazar explained that the reduction was due to the inflation of Bustos Dam’s two rubber gates at midnight Tuesday. By 1:00 PM, the openings of Sluice Gates 1 and 2 were reduced to 1.5 meters each, and Sluice Gate 3 was reduced to 2.5 meters, significantly lowering the water spillage.

As of Tuesday, Bustos Dam had not yet discharged irrigation water to Bulacan and parts of Pampanga’s farmlands.

An engineer from Angat Dam explained that the dam provides 90 percent of Metro Manila’s drinking water, generates 218 MW of hydropower for the Luzon Grid, and supplies irrigation water to over 20,000 hectares of farmland in Bulacan and parts of Pampanga. The engineer noted that if the water level falls below 180 meters, the dam’s water supply will be reserved solely for Metro Manila’s needs. At this level, the dam will be unable to provide 200 MW of power generation to the Luzon Grid due to insufficient water for the turbines, and irrigation supplies to Bulacan and Pampanga will be halted.

📷 Josephine Salazar