Napocor urges public to save water as Angat Dam level drops

MANILA, Philippines - The National Power Corporation (Napocor) urged the public to conserve water amid receding water levels in Angat Dam in Bulacan.

Napocor last week called for an inter-agency meeting to manage the drop in Angat Dam’s water level.

Napocor called on the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to shoulder cloud seeding efforts estimated to cost P2.6 million.

Napocor president Gladys Cruz-Sta. Rita said Napocor’s priority is domestic water supply before irrigation and power generation.

“Our main goal is to avoid disruption of water supply in Metro Manila,” said Leonor Cleofas, MWSS deputy administrator.

Sta. Rita also said that should there be a need for another phase of cloud seeding, the concerned agencies such as the Department of Agriculture and the National Irrigation Administration would jointly fund the follow up operations.

Cloud seeding is the process of dispersing salt in the upper part of clouds to stimulate the process of precipitation to form rain.

Angat Dam, which has an elevation of 187.03 meters above sea level (masl), continues to supply Metro Manila with 41 cubic meters per second of water with 14 cms of irrigation for farmers in Bulacan and Pampanga.

Once the dam reaches its minimum operating level of 180 masl by mid-May, allocation for irrigation will be discontinued to prioritize the domestic water supply for Metro Manila.

Power generation of Angat Hydroelectric Power Plant will also correspondingly decrease by 15MW, Napocor data showed.

Water concessionaire Maynilad earlier warned of water interruptions in some areas of Caloocan, Manila, Navotas, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa and Malabon during the Holy Week.

Sta. Rita, however, said this was to allow the flood control project of the Department of Public Works and Highways and was not due to the present water elevation in Angat Dam.– With Dino Balabo