The National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has decided against reducing the volume of water allowed the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage System (MWSS) from the Angat Dam by next month as originally projected.
The reduction would have meant 12-hour stretches of service interruptions across Metro Manila and its environs as the MWSS is forced to ration the water received by the water concessionaires from the Angat Dam to 48 cubic meter per second (CMS) instead of 50 CMS had the contingent plan worked out.
Still, the MWSS said while the service interruption had been prevented, consumers face the prospect of low water pressure in the pipes beginning in April, particularly during off-peak hours.
“The 50 CMS allocation for the month of April is maintained,” said Patrick James Dizon, MWSS division manager for Angat-Ipo operation management at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public forum on Tuesday.
What happens instead is for the MWSS to engage in water pressure management measures coming from the dam.
Dizon said the MWSS and concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water are crafting the best possible manner by which water pressure in the pipes offer the least inconvenience to consumers in the hot months ahead.
According to him, the plans is to manage the water pressure such that there is enough of it allowing the water to service the ground floor of each consumer.
“With this, water pressure will now be able to reach only the first floor. This way, we reduce losses in our system and the consumption of our customers,” Dizon said.
He also expressed confidence the depleted water reservoirs get their fill of water again around May and June based on the latest weather forecasts. He encouraged the consuming public to continue to use water wisely.
Data show the level of water at the Angat Dam stood at 201.20 meters or already below the 212-meter high water level mark but above the 180-meter normal operating level of the reservoir.
