TROPICAL Depression Egay has stirred up rains from the southwest monsoon, which resulted in a slight increase in the water level of Angat Dam to 158.64 meters above sea level (masl) as of Sunday, June 30, a 0.68 increase from the previous day. However, the water level from the vital water reserve is still below its critical level. The slight increase is the first-ever recorded since the dam breached the critical level of 160 masl on June 20. Water allocated for water irrigation has since been stopped as of May. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the continued improvement in the water level of the dam would depend on the weather systems that would affect Luzon in the coming weeks. Pagasa added that water from the mountain ranges would take time before this would reach the dam’s reservoir. Egay is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility by Wednesday, July 3, which may result in the weakening of the monsoon rains. Pagasa said it would take several days of rain before the dam reaches its normal level. The dam’s normal water level is 212 meters, while its critical level for drinking water is 160 meters. Current domestic supply is 36 cubic meters per second (cms), down from 40 cms since the Angat Dam breached its 160-meter critical level last June. This means that the four cms additional reduction in water allocation is already equivalent to the consumption of almost 700,000 consumers per day. The dam’s water level is barely meters from reaching its lowest level in July 2010 if not for the slight increase. Angat Dam reached its lowest level at 157.76 meters in July 2010, an El Niño year, which prompted authorities to temporarily stop operations. Angat Dam supplies 90 percent of the domestic water supply of Metro Manila. It also supplies irrigation to 20,000 hectares of farmland in Bulacan, 2,000 hectares of Pampanga’s farmlands in Candaba, and border lands of San Luis and Santa Ana. Pagasa is expecting water inside the dam to be replenished with expected rains this July. However, the El Niño weather phenomenon is likely to last up to November this year, according to Pagasa.