Farmers start to plant rice at a field in Barangay Simamla, Virac Catanduanes on November 7, 2020. Scattered rainshowers and slightly strong winds were felt in the province of Catanduanes as the low pressure area west of Sorsogon developed into a tropical depression and was named Tonyo by state weather bureau PAGASA, 8pm. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News
The National Water Resources Board is suspending water allocation for irrigation starting May 11 in preparation for the next crop season.
NWRB Executive Director Sevillo David Jr. said the suspension of the water allocation is timed with the ongoing harvest season.
"Nag-aani na ang mga magsasaka sa Bulacan at Pampanga. Kapag nag-aani na po, hindi na ganun kalaki ang pangangailangan nila sa tubig para sa kanilang irigasyon," he said in a TeleRadyo interview.
He said the NWRB is cutting down the water allocation for irrigation to 10 cubic meters per second before cutting it off completely after May 10.
"Pagkatapos ng May 10, suspendido na muna ang alokasyon o pag release ng tubig sa Angat Dam. Hihintayin natin yung susunod nilang pagtatanim
sa kalagitnaan ng June," he said.
Cutting down water allocation is also part of NWRB's efforts to conserve water ahead of the impact of the El Nino phenomenon.
State weather bureau PAGASA issued Tuesday an El Niño alert, saying the weather phenomenon characterized by below-normal rainfall may emerge in the coming season (June-July-August).
El Niño is the warm phase of the naturally-occurring climate pattern El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), marked by changes in wind direction and sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific.
PAGASA warned the El Niño phenomenon may impact Mindanao the most, due to the relatively higher amount of water being lost during the period.