AN administration lawmaker yesterday backed President Marcos Jr.’s plan to collect, impound and recycle Metro Manila’s stormwater for agricultural irrigation in surrounding provinces, saying it will benefit Angat Dam’s water reserve.
“We are all for it. Assuming the government can establish new, large stormwater reservoirs for farm irrigation, then all of Angat Dam’s water reserve may be freed up and devoted exclusively to supplying Metro Manila’s demand for potable water,” said Makati Rep. Luis Campos Jr.
The President has said the government plans to tap the multibillion-peso annual budget for flood control projects to create large stormwater impounding areas for farm irrigation purposes.
Stormwater refers to excess ground water from heavy rains, and which cause flooding until they drain out into natural waterways such as rivers and lakes.
Marcos has ordered the recently formed Water Resources Management Office to create a plan to incorporate agricultural water use into the country’s P351 billion flood control program.
Campos noted that besides supplying 90 percent of Metro Manila’s water requirement, Angat also provides water to irrigate some 28,000 hectares of farmland in Central Luzon.
Angat’s water level has continued to drop due to abnormally low rainfall amid a looming El Niño event.
As of 6 a.m. on Sunday, Angat’s water level fell to 184 meters, or just four meters above the dam’s 180-meter critically low water mark. The dam’s normal high-water level is 210 meters.
In previous dry spells, Angat, which is in Norzagaray, Bulacan, had stopped releasing farm irrigation water to conserve water supply for Metro Manila.
Campos is the author of House Resolution No. 906, which pressed for a congressional inquiry into what he called the “unsuccessful implementation” of the Rainwater Collection and Springs Development Law of 1989.
The 34-year-old law requires the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to construct rainwater collectors in all barangays.
