MALOLOS CITY, Bulacan — Amidst grueling summer temperatures and prolonged dry spells, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) is evaluating emergency cloud-seeding operations over the Angat Watershed.The critical reservoir has officially dropped below its minimum operating threshold, sparking urgent contingency talks between water regulators and weather experts.
Data from Bulacan’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) confirms that Angat Dam’s water elevation has receded to 178.55 meters—slipping 1.45 meters below its crucial 180-meter minimum operating level.
Angat Dam, located in Norzagaray, Bulacan, is the absolute lifeline of the national capital region and its surrounding agricultural plains.
- Metro Manila Dependency: The reservoir supplies over 90 percent of the raw, potable water requirements for Metro Manila’s population.
- Agricultural Impact: Beyond tap water, the dam provides vital irrigation to thousands of hectares of competitive rice farmlands across Bulacan and Pampanga.
- Power Supply: The facility contributes 218 megawatts of clean hydropower to the main Luzon energy grid, which is currently under strain from spinning reserves and high baseline demand.
The rapid depletion of the reservoir’s reserves is driven by a convergence of severe seasonal factors:
- Extreme Heat Indexes: Prolonged, record-breaking summer temperatures throughout May 2026 have radically accelerated the natural evaporation rates of open reservoir waters.
- Lack of Rainfall: Despite very brief localized thunderstorms in parts of Northern Luzon, the specific catchment basin of the Angat Watershed has received little to no substantial rainfall.
- The El Niño Compound: NWRB Executive Director Sevillo David Jr. noted that the receding water elevation is expected to be further exacerbated by the looming threats of the El Niño weather phenomenon later in the year.
To forcefully replenish the drying watershed, the NWRB is actively mapping out artificial rain-generation schedules.
- Inter-Agency Collaboration: The board is in active technical discussions with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) to check if the current atmosphere holds enough moisture for successful seeding.
- The Right Target Window: Experts emphasize that cloud-seeding must be precisely executed when convective clouds are abundant over the target watershed. If deployed incorrectly during a severe dry spell, artificial rain can end up falling over lowland cities rather than inside the mountain catchments where it is desperately needed.
Under standing government protocols, dropping below the 180-meter mark triggers an automated prioritizing mechanism:
“When the water in Angat Dam falls below the 180-meter minimum operating level, the water allocation is automatically reserved and prioritized for the domestic needs of Metro Manila residents.” — NWRB Operational Guidelines
While domestic supply is currently being prioritized to prevent widespread urban water rationing, a prolonged absence of rain will heavily pressure the agricultural sector, as irrigation allocations to central Luzon farmers may face steep reductions.