DESPITE the dry season, Luzon’s four major dams can still supply water for their respective customers until the month of June, when the rainy season is expected to start in the Philippines.
The four dams are Magat (Isabela), San Roque (Pangasinan), Pantabangan (Nueva Ecija) and Angat (Bulacan), which supplies Metropolitan Manila and nearby provinces with potable water.
Reports said that water level by the end of May will likely remain above the dams’ corresponding low water elevations, so the possibility for water shortage in these facilities is “nil.”
This is according to Sonia Serrano, a hydrologist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
And PAGASA has forecast above-normal rainfall this May over watersheds where the dams are boosting their facilities’ potential to supply water to their customers.
Citing PAGASA’s latest available outlook, Serrano said expected end-May 2021 water levels in Angat, San Roque, Pantabangan and Magat Dams are 189.51 meters, 251 meters, 196.98 meters and 193 meters, respectively.
The dams’ corresponding low water elevations are 180 meters, 225 meters, 177 meters and 160 meters, respectively, indicating that they have enough water to supply this June.
Every year, people living in low-lying areas, particularly Metropolitan Manila and nearby provinces, fear the start of the rainy months, when powerful typhoons batter the country.
In fact, rampaging floodwaters from heavily-silted waterways, like rivers and lakes, inundate many communities, forcing the government to suspend work and classes in these areas.
Sana tama lang ang lamang tubig ang mga dam para hindi na kailangang maglabas ng tubig na magpapabaha lang sa mga mabababang lugar, lalo na sa Metropolitan Manila at karatig-pook.
