'Basyang' of no help to Angat Dam

It may have blown down away billboards and caused a major blackout in Luzon but typhoon "Basyang" (Conson) was of no help in easing the critical water level at Angat Dam. Basyang had been expected to bring much-needed rains to the country, including the Angat Dam area. However, Angat Dam manager Rodolfo German says rains from Basyang merely slowed down the drop in Angat's water levels instead of raising them. The multipurpose reservoir of Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan, provides 97 percent of the domestic water supply of Metro Manila and irrigates about 27,000 hectares of rice land in Bulacan. "Kaunti lang ang bumagsak sa watershed area (Relatively little rain fell on the watershed area)," German said in an interview on dzBB radio. He says the water level remained below critical level at 157.5 meters. "Nasa critical level pa tayo, pababa pa rin (We are still at critical level)," he says. –VVP, GMANews.TV