Angat Dam's water level dips below 180-meter minimum operating level

The water level at Angat Dam fell below its minimum operating level of 180 meters on Thursday, May 23, due to insufficient rainfall in the Bulacan watershed.
As of 6 a.m., the water level at Angat Dam measured 179.68 meters, 0.39 meters lower than the previous day’s level of 180.07 meters.
Angat Dam is currently 32.32 meters below its normal high water level of 212 meters.
The operational protocol at Angat Dam specifies that when the water level dips below 180 meters, water releases are prioritized as follows: domestic use, followed by irrigation, and then river maintenance activities.
The National Water Resources Board is responsible for determining how the raw water from the dam is allocated between domestic consumption and irrigation purposes.
Angat Dam serves as a significant source of domestic water for Metro Manila and provides irrigation for the agricultural lands of Bulacan and Pampanga.
Based on PAGASA’s projection, considering the current dam allocation of 58 cubic meters per second, Angat Dam’s water level may further decrease to 171.38 meters by June 30.
PAGASA noted that historically, Angat Dam's water level tends to gradually recover around mid-July, usually coinciding with the intensified influence of the southwest monsoon, locally called "habagat," or the passage of a tropical cyclone near or over its watershed.