THE water level inside the reservoir of the Angat Dam is now at 161.45 meters, slightly higher by 10 centimeters from last Saturday’s 161.35 meters, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s monitoring (Pagasa).

The latest reading is an improvement to last week’s critical level readings, Pagasa said.

The dam’s critical level is at 160 meters which means that water inside the reservoir may still go up if monsoon rains over the watershed continue.

The National Water Resources Board (NWRB) reduced the amount of water allocated to Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) from 46 cubic meters per second (cms) to 36 cms since May and will continue to do so as water level in the dam is likely to dip further in the coming days.

The bulk of Metro Manila’s daily requirement, or 90 percent, comes from Angat Dam. The Department of Agriculture said that the domestic purpose of Angat Dam’s water would surely compete with the dam’s water if it does not reach full capacity.

Angat Dam reached its lowest level of 157.76 meters in July 2010, an El Niño year, which prompted authorities to temporarily stop operations.

While the current level may be a welcome development, it is still below the normal level of 180 meters.