MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) - Malacañang pointed its finger at the National Power Corporation (NPC) as the culprit behind the severe water problem being experienced in a large area of Metro Manila.

At a press briefing after the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singon said the problem can be attributed to NPC’s decision to release water since October of last year.

"Before October (2009), there was a high level of water at 210 meters in Angat dam,” said Singson, who used to be the head of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS). “But after that, NAPOCOR released in the period of November and December (2009) almost three month’s worth of water for domestic use."

Singson suspects that NPC officials may have triggered the release to prevent another similar scenario that happened in Pangasinan, considering the approach of the typhoon season.

NPC is in charge of deciding the release of water from dams.

The DPWH secretary said the problem was also due to the mismanagement of Angat dam, but he said NAPOCOR can no longer be held for that since “it’s now up to the NWRB (National Water Resources Board), which is under DENR.”

Singson will recommend the establishment of a “dynamic protocol” on dam management that can address varying situations, and a revamp of people managing dams that will have the ability to follow a dynamic protocol.

NPC denies Singson's claim

The NPC, however, denies over-releasing water from Angat Dam, which is now down to a critically low level.

"Hindi kami naglabas ng more than what is required. Forty years na namin siyang mina-manage, and ngayon pa kami sasabihin na mismanaged yung dam," said NPC spokesperson Dennis Gana. "But, of course, we're also open to any investigation."

Water situation 'getting worse'

Right now, the water situation is getting worse in areas serviced by Maynilad.

The Secretary explained that Maynilad gets its water directly from Angat Dam, while Manila Water gets its water from the Angat Dam and from the treatment plant in La Mesa dam.

There are now 344 barangays suffering from severe water shortage, representing 45% of the area serviced by Maynilad.

Sngson explained that most of the affected areas are serviced by Maynilad because the concessionaire is working on a 50- to 60-year-old water system.

According to Singson, MWSS pipes in Metro Manila are the oldest water system in Asia.

Maynilad was privatized only in 2007 and, according to Singson, “when we took over there was system loss (leaks) of 67% in the system”.

Singson said Maynilad initiated repairs and was able to reduce the leaks down to 53%.

Manila Water, on the other hand, was able to replace and improve their system in the past ten years.

Mitigating steps

Singson reported that one of the mitigating steps discussed in Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting was cloud seeding operation.

Water rationing is being conducted with only 40 tankers, 10 of which comes from Manila water.

“We are also using the help of local government units in delivering water to communities,” said Singson.

Aside from this, they are looking at alternative water resources for Metro Manila, including the Pampanga River, the Wawa Dam in Marikina, Laiban Dam, and Laguna de Bay.

According to Singson, based on available data, it will take around 3 years to tap the water from Pampanga River or Wawa Dam.

Laiban Dam can produce 1,900 million liters per day, but according to Secretary Singson, “it will take around 5 to 10 years to build Laiban dam, that’s why it’s not practical”.

The best example, according to Singson, is Laguna de Bay, where a plant was built in Putatan, Muntinlupa.

“It produces 100-million liters per day which services the water supply for Ayala Alabang”, said Singson. The Secretary said both Manila Water and Maynilad are interested in building plants that would tap Laguna de Bay's water.

“The level in Angat dam is now 157.6 meters, the lowest, lower than the 1998 El Niño,” said Singson.

The DPWH secretary said that the water level in Angat Dam, even in a “no water scenario,” can last only for the next sixty days.