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MANILA (UPDATE) — Several members of the Dumagat tribe in Bulacan gathered early Monday to perform a ritual to seek rain from the heavens as the water level continued to drop in the Angat Dam, which supplies water to Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

• Angat level further dips amid looming water interruption

A fire was lit, fresh blood was drawn from a chicken, and prayers and chants were muttered as members of the tribe used branches to whip water from a nearby river that is part of the Angat’s reservoir system.

Salvador Cruz, the 65-year-old tribal governor of the Dumagat Tribe in the area, said that they have turned to the gods as receding waters in Angat affected the daily routines of his tribe.

• Angat Dam slightly breaches minimum operating level

“Kung minsan po talagang apektado kami gaya ng paliligo dahil napuputol ang tubig sa hose,” Cruz said.

“Walang nagsu-supply sa amin. Ganoon din sa paglalaba, apektado din po kami… Sa inumin, kung walang sasakyan, walang maiinom,” he added.

(We have been affected at times, our water for bathing runs out. Our supply gets cut off. It's the same thing for doing laundry. For drinking water, you'll have none if you don't have a car.)

Recent data from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage (MWSS) showed that the water level in Angat Dam has dropped to 179.19 meters, which is lower than the dam’s 180-meter minimum operating level.

This has prompted regulators to cut water supply in several areas in Metro Manila from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. or around 9 hours a day, said Patrick James Dizon, division manager of MWSS corporate office.

“Ang maaapektuhan po na customers ay around 591,000 na kabahayan,” he said, noting that the number is about a third of the customers of water concessionaire Maynilad.

“‘Yung mga areas po na ito, ang Maynilad po ang magsasabi,” he said.

(This will affect around 591,000 households. Maynilad will announce the affected areas.)

The water service interruption in these areas will be lifted when the water level in Angat Dam returns to or goes above 180 meters.

“Sa ngayon po, hindi naman po natin ineexpect na bababa yung elevation ng Angat Dam na up to critical level na 160,” Dizon said.

• Water utilities prep for lower allocation amid El Niño

“Sa ngayon, ang ineexpect natin ay around 176 o 177 lang ang pinakamababang mae-experience natin sa reservoir,” he said.

(For now, we don't expect the elevation of Angat Dam to hit the 160-meter critical level. We expect that our lowest will be 176 or 177.)

Angat Dam’s lowest elevation recorded in recent history was in 2010 when its water level dropped to 157 meters.

The MWSS is urging the public to conserve water as the El Niño phenomenon is expected to last either until the end of the year or until the first quarter of 2024.

“Sa ngayon kailangan po natin tipirin yung natitirang tubig ng Angat Dam like yung pag-repair sa mga leaks natin sa ating mga tubo, pagpatay ng mga gripo pag hindi ginagamit,” Dizon said.

“Ine-encourage din po natin na sahurin yung mga ulan na dumadating sa atin… yun po ay puwede nating magamit para pambuhos sa ating mga CR at pandilig sa ating mga halaman,” he said.

(We need to conserve the remaining water in Angat, we should fix leaking pipes, turn off faucets that are not in use. We encourage the public to collect rainwater and use that in our comfort rooms or for plants.)

For the National Water Resources Board, it says it is looking for ways to prevent the water shortage.

"To address 'yung water security natin in the future, we have to optimize or maximize 'yung mga tubig na nare-receive po natin. Primarily, 'yung mga pag-ulan, particular 'yung malakas na pag-ulan ay ito nagiging baha at nagiging peligro pa sa downstream communities," NWRB executive director Dr. Sevillo David Jr. told ANC's "Headstart" Wednesday.

"So, ang isa nating tinitingnan is how to store ito, divert somewhere para mapakinabangan natin ito in the drier months. So, kailangan po talaga ng mga water impounding facilities," he added.

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