Good news ito.......so wala nang water crisis? Pero may El Nino pa rin next year kaya, conserve pa rin tayo.



INQ7.Net
Dec. 10, 2006


THE WATER level in Angat Dam registered, on Monday, its highest level this year at 209.89 meters or only five meters below the spilling level.

The five typhoons that lashed the country the past three months have poured in much-needed water in the dam, which supplies water to households in Metro Manila and irrigation to Central Luzon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Monday.

“This is the highest so far this year,” PAGASA director Prisco Nilo told the Inquirer in a phone interview Monday. “The water level was low the rest of the year because the storms did not pass the area. It was a good thing Seniang hit Luzon and brought huge cloudiness that caused rains.”

The significantly higher water level was attributed to typhoons Milenyo, Paeng, Queenie, Reming and Seniang, which poured water to Angat Dam since September.

Reming, the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, had raised the dam’s water level from 201 meters to 203 meters while Seniang upped the water level by six meters from 203 meters to 209 meters, PAGASA said.

Typhoon Seniang slowed down Monday but maintained its wind strength of 120 kilometers per hour with gustiness of 150 kilometers per hour as it exited the country through Palawan.

Nilo said the 209-meter water level was “almost normal” for Angat and could supply the domestic water requirements of Metro Manila. The current level, however, may still be insufficient for irrigation and power generation.

PAGASA is expecting the water level to increase by another meter in the next three days as water runoff from the mountains would reach the dam, Nilo said. “The northeast monsoon will be active until the end of December… Within this month we can reach normal level in Angat,” Nilo said.

The normal level for Angat Dam is 210 meters, which has not been reached this year. PAGASA has advised government agencies and the public to prepare for the effects of El Niño next year.

Signal no. 1 remains over Lubang Island and the Calamian Group of Islands.