TF El Niño allays fears of Metro water crisis
Metro Manila’s water supply is “more than enough,” even amid the impact of the El Niño phenomenon on the capital region’s reserves, while the allocation set last January for the period of May 1 to 15 will still be provided on schedule.
According to Environment Undersecretary Carlos Primo David, the water allocation set by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the first half of May is 50 cubic meters per second (CMS).
“That’s our allocation since January,” he said in a press briefing on Monday by Task Force El Niño. “[This] is actually 2 cubic meters per second higher than in previous years. We are increasing the allocation for Metro Manila because our consumer base is growing, the [consumption] per person in Metro Manila is also increasing and the demand from Bulacan is also rising.”
As for the country’s irrigation requirements, he said, farmers will get a “full allocation” of 24 CMS through the National Irrigation Administration since May is the last month of the cropping season.
‘Proactive conservation’
David said the task force is determined to prevent a repeat of the water crisis that hit Metro Manila in 2019.
“I don’t think we will reach that point because, number one, in the case of MWSS, we are activating another outlet where water flows out at a lower level,” he said.
The government has also carried out “proactive conservation” measures ahead of El Niño, he said, after it was earlier projected to hit its peak beginning March.
The MWSS had said in January that “We can assure our countrymen that water will be sufficient this summer.”
Also that month, President Marcos issued Executive Order No. 53, reviving Task Force El Niño and mandating that body to carry out policies that would help mitigate the effects of the weather phenomenon.
The task force is headed by the defense secretary. Its member agencies include, besides the Department of National Defense, the National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Department of Science and Technology.
Drop in water level
Despite the assurance of continued water supply, David warned that the water level at Angat Dam, the source of about 90 percent of Metro Manila’s supply, continues to decrease.
“I should say that while the supply is still enough, the decrease in water level in terms of its rate is quite alarming,” he said. “Our water level is dropping by almost 0.4 to half a meter every day.”
Analiza Solis, chief of the climate monitoring section of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, said the current El Niño “could be one of the worst.”
“If we look at the climate impact, we also see a similar pattern of very high daytime temperatures [such as] during the 1997-1998 El Niño, as well as the strong El Niño [of] 2015-2016. So, temperatures are also high now, surpassing those a bit,” she said.
David said the government continues to try different solutions to help alleviate the impact of El Niño.
“Perhaps many haven’t noticed that during the night, we lower the water pressure in our households,” he said. INQ
