NWRB further cuts allocation in water supply due to El Niño

With the El Niño phenomenon still expected to peak, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) on Thursday said it further cut the volume of water released from the Angat Dam supposedly intended for domestic use in Metro Manila.

NWRB executive director Sevillo D. David Jr. said in a briefing that allocation in October for the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and its two concessionaires will be reduced to 36 cubic meters per second (cu. m./s), down from 38 cu. m./s in September.

“The [Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration] confirmed that we are now feeling the effects of an extraordinary El Niño that will last until about June next year,” David said.

“The board decided to further reduce water supply to MWSS in preparation for the supply needs of Metro Manila next year,” he said, adding that the move meant a 5-percent reduction in supply allocation.

He said that as of Thursday morning, the water level in the Angat dam was pegged at 189.91 meters above sea level (masl).

The NWRB chief added the current level was still 20.09 masl below Angat’s “normal high water level” of 210 masl.

Still, the current water level showed a gain of 3.67 meters from the 186.24 masl recorded last Sept. 1.

Last month, when the water allocation from Angat was reduced to 38 cu. m./s from 41 cu. m./s, the two concessionaires of MWSS resorted to implementing less-than-normal water pressure for seven hours during non-peak consumption hours to manage supplies.

Maynilad said the measures affected some 230,000 households, or 18 percent of its customers.

Manila Water Company Inc., on the other hand, said some 125,500 households or nine percent of its own customer base was affected.

Manila Water corporate communications head Jeric T. Sevilla Jr. said in an interview yesterday the company would keep the status quo for now, noting that the NWRB has just announced the new allocation.

“We will continue with the measures implemented last September as we calibrate (the scheme) to see if it needs to be revised based on the new allocation,” Sevilla told the Inquirer.

In a statement, Maynilad said that with an allocation of 36 cu. m./s, “the number of Maynilad customers affected by reduced supply availability and pressure may increase, and the current seven-hour daily water service interruptions (from 9 pm to 4 am) may lengthen.”

“This is assuming that no rains will fall at the Ipo Dam, which helps to alleviate reduced allocations from Angat Dam,” Maynilad added.