The water level of Angat Dam in Bulacan has recovered nearly five meters from its record-low elevation last week, with further increases possible as rains continue over its watershed, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Monday, Aug. 3.

The dam's water level rose to 155.41 meters as of 8 a.m. Monday, up nearly five meters from the 150.6-meter record-low on July 25.

During a press conference, Engr. Socrates Paat Jr., chief of the PAGASA Hydrometeorology Division, said the dam's elevation has been rising, although the recovery has not been steady.

“Umangat ang elevation ng Angat for more than a week na (The elevation of Angat has been rising for more than a week),” Paat said, citing the recent rains that have helped raise the dam's water level.

“Dahil mataas ang confidence natin sa mga pag-ulan, malakas din ang possibility na aangat pa further yung elevation ng Angat Dam (Because we have high confidence in the occurrence of rains, there is also a strong possibility that the elevation of Angat Dam will rise further),” Paat said.

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PAGASA hydrologist Jofren Habaluyas said the dam's water level nevertheless dropped by 0.04 meters over the past 24 hours.

He said the dam has shown an increasing trend over the past three to four days, which could be due to the condition of the Angat watershed.

“So tinitignan namin based sa aming analysis, possible na baka yung watershed ng Angat is saturated na. So kung ano man na yung rainfall na ma-receive is madali yung magiging reaction or translation niya dito sa storage ng tubig sa dam (Based on our analysis, it is possible that the Angat watershed is already saturated. So whatever rainfall it receives will quickly translate into additional water stored in the dam),” Habaluyas said.

However, the dam's current level remains 24.93 meters below the 180.34-meter rule curve elevation, which represents the level at which Angat Dam is considered to be under normal operations.

Habaluyas said about 470 millimeters of rainfall would be needed for the dam to reach the rule curve elevation.

Paat, however, cautioned the public against becoming complacent as Angat Dam remains below the rule curve.

He said the dam's water level is expected to continue rising, although the increase may not be substantial.

“Patuloy tayo magtipid sa tubig para itong mga nababawi na ating mga increases in water level na ito ay hindi mabilis ang pagdeplete (We should continue conserving water so that these gains in water level will not be quickly depleted),” Paat said.