CLOUD SEEDING. Personnel of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) carry sacks of fine salt for loading into the BN-2 Islander airplane to be used for cloud seeding operations in Bulacan on Monday (May 6, 2019). The move is to create artificial rain that could increase the level of water of dams in the province, particularly in Angat Dam which is the major source of water supply for Metro Manila. (Photo by Manny Balbin)
CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan -- The Bureau of Soil and Water Management (BSWM) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) has begun its cloud seeding operations over the dams in Bulacan, particularly Angat Dam, to create artificial rain that could increase the water level in the facilities.
BSWM project development officer Mary Joy David said Wednesday the operations started Monday afternoon.
BSWM-DA personnel loaded 25 sacks of salt into a BN-2 Islander airplane that took off at the Plaridel Airport of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and scattered them at the top clouds over the Angat, Ipo, and La Mesa dams.
David said the personnel looked for cumulonimbus clouds that were mixed with white and dark clouds, for the seeding.
Ted Elipio, division manager operation of the Angat-Umiray Trans-basin of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), said the water level in Angat Dam, which is located in Norzagaray town, is now at 176 meters.
The water level in Angat Dam was recorded at less than 157 meters in early 2010, when there was a more severe drought.
The dam's spilling level is 214 meters.
Meanwhile, to increase water level in the dam, the National Water Resources Board will temporarily cut down the irrigation supply to palay farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga beginning May 16.
David assured, however, that the cloud seeding operation would continue, if necessary, to increase the water level.
Some 96 percent of the water supply for Metro Manila, which is shared by Maynilad and Manila Water, come from Angat Dam. (PNA)
