‘Seniang’ replenishes MM water supply

MALOLOS CITY — Typhoon "Seniang" may have wrought destruction in the Bicol and Visayas regions, but it did some good for Metro Manila as the water level at the Angat Dam rose to near spilling level yesterday.

Engineer Rodolfo German, manager of the Angat River Hydro Electric Power Plant (Arhepp) that manages the giant reservoir, said the current water elevation may be enough for the water needs of Metro Manila until next year.

"Seniang may be the last typhoon for the year so we are not going to release water anymore," German told The STAR in a telephone interview.

Records at the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Office (PDCO) here showed that water elevation at the Angat Dam climbed to 210.25 meters as of 8 a.m. yesterday compared to 203.94 meters recorded on Friday.

However, it remained low compared to water elevation recorded on the same day in the last two years.

On Dec. 11, 2004, water elevation at the dam hit 216.90 meters, which required dam managers to release 882 cubic meters of water per second through its spill way, while last year water level was recorded at 214.56 meters.

Last month, Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MWSI) and the National Power Corp. (Napocor) figured in a controversy over the reduction of water allocation to Metro Manila due to low water elevation at the dam.

MWSI blamed the Napocor for unilaterally deciding on the reduction of water allocation from 41 cms to 39 cms.

But German said he was just following orders from the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), which decides how much water will be allocated to Metro Manila and Central Luzon.

He also said that Metro Manila will not lack water if MWSI will patch up water leaks in its pipelines.