Angat Dam (Photo from Alfred Penaflor's Facebook page)
CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan – Authorities have started conducting cloud seeding operations as the water elevation of Angat Dam continues to recede.
In a statement on Thursday, Sevillo David Jr., executive director of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), confirmed that the Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System, together with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), has been conducting cloud-seeding operations over the Angat watershed areas.
The dam is the major source of water supply for Metro Manila residents, provides irrigation water supply to Bustos Dam in Bulacan and some parts of Pampanga's irrigated rice lands, and for power generation to the Luzon Grid.
Based on the monitoring of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office of Bulacan as of Thursday morning, the water elevation of Angat Dam was at 190.94 meters, just 10.94 meters above its minimum operating level of 180 meters.
As the water elevation recedes, the National Irrigation Administration has further reduced its supply to its south and north service areas in Bulacan and some parts of irrigated rice lands in Pampanga.
At the start of the dry cropping season, the NWRB has allocated a total of 40 cubic meters per second (cms) to the two service areas of NIA being regulated by Bustos Dam.
Roberto dela Cruz, NIA provincial manager for Bulacan, said, "The reduction in the irrigation allocations in these services is due to the start of the harvest season with minimal water requirements for maturing rice crops." (PNA)
