As the summer heat intensifies, Manila Water reported a decline in water levels across Metro Manila's three main water sources.
During the period from March 1 to April 1, the Angat Dam registered the largest drop of 6.9 meters among the three dams, falling from 205.7 meters a month ago to 198.8 meters.
Despite this decrease, the water level at Angat Dam remains above the minimum operating level of 180 meter and critical level of 160 meters.
Ipo Dam, on the other hand, remained below its maintaining level of 101 meters and further decreased by 0.34 meters to 99.83 meters from 99.49 meters on March 1.
Meanwhile, La Mesa Dam posted a reduction of 0.51 meters last month from 76.47 meters to 75.96 meters.
Although La Mesa's water level is currently below the normal operating range of 78 to 79 meters, it is still above the critical level of 69 meters, according to Manila Water.
Despite the declining level due to higher demand and the dry season, regulators from the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) assured that this is a normal trend that happens every year.
The most recent water allocation to the two Metro Manila concessionaires, Maynilad Water Services, Inc. and Manila Water has gone down from 50 cubic meters per second (cms) to 48.
According to NWRB, its decision to minimize the allotment is to avoid Angat Dam’s level dropping down to its critical level of 160 meters, especially during the El Niño season.