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Angat Dam, Bulacan

Greenpeace today stepped up its call for the need for urgent political action to climate-proof the country's water resources as water levels in Angat Dam reached a critical level.

The decline in Angat's water levels is currently being monitored by the "Water Watch" camp which Greenpeace, together with National Power, set up last Monday. As the El Nino weather phenomenon intensifies, it is expected to further aggravate drought conditions across the country.

"The Philippines is a regular victim of extreme weather which has held us hostage to drastic situations of too much or too little water. Climate change is expected to intensify extreme weather events, but our current water management systems are still far from being climate-proofed," said

Mark Dia, Deputy Campaign Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

"The current drought is a clear signal that securing our water supply must be a top priority for the next government. Presidential candidates must inform the public how they will deal with this growing crisis during their first 100 days in office," Dia added.

The following videos show the Angat Dam only 7 months ago

Contrast the video shots with photos taken this week by the joint Greenpeace/National Power monitoring team and the scale of the problem becomes apparent

 

Photo credits: Veejay Villafranca/Raymond Panaligan © Greenpeace - click images to enlarge

Greenpeace is challenging presidential candidates to lay down policies that will: 1) prioritize hazards- and vulnerability-assessments to identify risks and implement adaptation measures to prevent or alleviate water shortage in case of drought; or lessen damage to crops, property and infrastructure in the case of too much rain; and 2) improve the existing capabilities of monitoring teams to develop efficient forecasting and warning systems for extreme weather events that are critical to protecting lives, property and critical environmental resources.

The Water Watch project is also calling on the public to seriously practice water conservation measures at home, such as reusing water, fixing water leaks and avoiding non-urgent water use.

Water levels in the various dams in Luzon are going down, some to very alarming levels. In Ambuklao, dam water level is 740.19 meters above sea level (masl), which is below the normal level of 752 masl. In Binga, it is at 560.25 masl, which is below the normal level of 575. In Caliraya, dam level is 285.83 masl, below the normal of 289.15 masl. And in Angat, dam waters have gone down to 179.55 masl, way below its normal level of 210 masl.

"Angat dam waters are decreasing at a rate of one centimeter per hour. In less than five days, it goes down by more than one meter. We should be very concerned already at this rate", said Dennis S. Gana, spokesperson, National Power.

He further added that National Power has done all means to keep the Angat watershed intact, but since there is no inflow of water to the reservoir due to lack of rain, not even the forest can provide the needed supply to augment the existing one.

"A more aggressive approach towards conservation is needed on the demand-side. As for our part, government will exhaust all means available to address the current water and power shortage. One of this is to maximize current water supply with more strict implementation of water allocations as given by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB). Contingencies are likewise being drawn up by the Department of Energy to address the power situation", Gana said.

Greenpeace and National Power have jointly undertaken Water Watch, a project to help increase awareness and concern among the public on the effects of Climate change on the country’s water resources. Water watch is an interactive campaign, where bloggers can log in their comments and suggestions on how to save our environment. Visit http://saangalingtubigmo.com.

For more information:

Mark Dia, Deputy Campaign Director, +63 917 843 0549, mark.dia@greenpeace.org

Lea Guerrero, Regional Communications Manager, +63 908 885 1140, lea.guerrero@greepeace.org

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3 Comments

Pano yan pag hndi na umulan? mama2tyay nlng tyo sa libag at pagkatuyo ng lalamunan? Tapos pagbumagyo nman hndi nyo malaman kng pano babawasan tubig nyang dam na yan! Damned na mga shungangot na tagapangasiwa yan oo. Ang alam lng nila kc sumahod at mag abang pa ng su2nod pa nilang sahod.ibang ulan kc ang hinihnty nyang mga yan para kumilos.Dapat pantay pantay kng tlagang krisis sa tubig. Eh bkit sa dito sa maynila lng walang tubig,samantala ang lalakas ng tulo ng tubig sa angat mismo?

Pano yan pag hndi na umulan? mama2tyay nlng tyo sa libag at pagkatuyo ng lalamunan? Tapos pagbumagyo nman hndi nyo malaman kng pano babawasan tubig nyang dam na yan! Damned na mga shungangot na tagapangasiwa yan oo. Ang alam lng nila kc sumahod at mag abang pa ng su2nod pa nilang sahod.ibang ulan kc ang hinihnty nyang mga yan para kumilos.Dapat pantay pantay kng tlagang krisis sa tubig. Eh bkit sa dito sa maynila lng walang tubig,samantala ang lalakas ng tulo ng tubig sa angat mismo?

Diba ang ilog hndi nman matutuyo as long as free flowing ito sa main source o sa pnanggalingan mg tubig nito? hindi porke mainit o El nino ay basta basta nlng matutuyo ang isang ilog,lalu na't contonious ang daloy nito o walang pumipigil.hindi dapat idahilan sa walang ulan kaya natutuyo ang ilog,pwera nalang kng stagnant river ang angat dam diba. Bkit hndi kaya tignan ang pinagmumulan ng daloy ng ilog bka skali magkaroon kyo ng siguradong dahilan ng pagkatuyo nito. o bka naman my nag babalak gumawa ng panibagong dam at dinivert ang flow ng tubig sa ibang lugar?Di kya? psensya na,engot lng,pero my sense diba! Malay nyo...

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