Angat Dam in Bulacan shows no sign of improvement in its water supply as it further drops to 171.06 meters from 171.4 meters Friday. As of 6:00 am Saturday, this just a few meters from the 160-meter critical level for drinking water.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said that despite the declaration of the rainy season by Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the dam has yet to recover from its water supply.
Angat Dam has closed its irrigation supply for Pampanga and Bulacan last May after it breached the 180 meter critical level for irrigation.
If the dam's water further plummets, the 14 million residents in Metro Manila who rely on the water supply coming from dam would have to start conserving water.
Farmers in some 27,000 hectares of farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga are serviced by the irrigation coming from Angat Dam but irrigation services has been cut as it would have to prioritize civilian consumption.
The DA said that despite the lack of irrigation supply, farmers have already started planting palay seeds for the start of the planting season this July. DA regional director Andrew Villacorta said that farmers would be relying on artificial water sources from pumps and even the coming water supply from the forecast rains coming this July.
Pagasa said that it expects rains to come this mid June and July and may soon replenish the water levels needed by Angat Dam. The dry spell triggered by the current El Niño phenomenon had deprived the Bulacan watershed of water needed to replenish the dam's water holdings.
Pagasa is optimistic that the lack of possible irrigation will not adversely affect Central Luzon farmers as the rainy season is just around the corner.
Meanwhile, water levels in Luzon's major dams like La Mesa, Ambuklao, San Roque, Magat, Caliraya also fell as of Friday's posting from the state weather bureau.
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