The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) on Tuesday said the water level at Angat Dam should remain sufficient to meet the requirements of Metro Manila residents, based on latest simulations.
Angat dam supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s water requirements and at an elevation of 203.25 is still more than 23 meters above the 180-meter minimum operating level.
MSWW administrator Leonor Cleofas, at the Kaliwa dam project construction site in Teresa, Rizal on Tuesday, said the outlook on water supply no matter the onset of the El Nino phenomenon, inspires optimism.
The technical working group chaired by the National Water Resources Board with the National Irrigation Administration, the MWSS and other stakeholders as member simulated events and came up with a “good prognosis” on water elevation lasting until around August this year.
“What we are also saying is we do not depend on Angat dam alone. We have short to medium term sources of additional water. They may just be smaller ones and not as big as Angat but these can help for our water needs during the summer months,” Cleofas added.
According also to the MWSS, the construction of the Kaliwa Dam is 24 percent complete and targeted for completion by 2026 and operational by January 2027.
The Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), for its part, is pushing a water conservation program to help manage water supply for the 532 water districts in the country.
“Together with both public and private stakeholders we will have a whole of nation approach on a conservation program for water resources since this early, this month, we already feel the increased need for water,” said Vicente Homer Revil, LWUA administrator.
He said LWUA is also looking at foreign technologies for harnessing water like those employed in Israel which are applicable for use in the Philippines such as desalination and catchment dams, among others.
