Water at Angat Dam in Norzagaray town, this province has risen above its minimum operating level of 180 meters.

Record from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office of Bulacan showed that its water elevation as of 8 a.m. Monday rose to 182.08 meters.

However, this is still 29.92 meters below the ideal water level of 212 meters by the end of the year to be able to supply sufficient water to Metro Manila by early next year.

Angat Dam supplies 97 percent of the domestic water needs of residents in the metropolis and the primary source of irrigation for Bulacan’s rice lands and some parts of Pampanga.

The allocation of irrigation water is usually being suspended when the dam’s water level falls below 180 meters.

The National Water Resources Board, however, still allocated 25 cubic meters per second of water for irrigation purposes until the end of this month due to the near normal to above normal rainfall projections of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) for the coming weeks.

PAGASA had earlier reported a probable occurrence of a La Niña episode by the last quarter of 2020. (PNA)