The flow of raw water from Angat Dam to the treatment plants of Manila Water Co. Inc. (MWC) and Maynilad Water Services Inc. will be back to normal at 46 cubic meters per second (cms) until March 31 in consideration of Metro Manila’s supply needs during the coronavirus emergency, according to the National Water Resources Board (NWRB).
Until March 11, the NWRB has maintained allocation of Angat stock for domestic use at 42 cms in an effort to save supply until the hot summer months when water consumption increases.
That will have to be given a lower priority following Malacañang’s declaration of a state of emergency as the number of confirmed cases of the disease exploded to 49 in the past few days from just three cases as of February.
“This [normalized water supply allocation] is to ensure the steady water supply for Metro Manila considering the declaration of the state of public health emergency and the importance of water in undertaking the preventive measures against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),” the agency said in an advisory.
“The NWRB is assuring the public that water will be sustainably available throughout the whole year,” it added. “The public is similarly asked to avoid wastage and to use water responsibly.”
NWRB executive director Sevillo David Jr. told the Inquirer the allocation for irrigation purposes remains at 20 cms.
In a separate statement, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) said it had kick-started cloud seeding operations over the Angat watershed, as part of efforts to replenish supply at the dam.
As of 6 a.m. of Thursday, water level at Angat was pegged at 200.58 meters above sea level (masl), still more than 20 meters above the minimal operating level of 180 masl.
This was 120 centimeters less than the 200.7 masl recorded on the same day of 2019
The MWSS said it was cofunding with Maynilad Water Services Inc. a total of 26 cloud seeding flights out of the 66 such sorties planned for the Angat watershed during this year’s summer months.—RONNEL W. DOMINGO