CABANATUAN CITY – A cloud seeding operation could be launched to boost the water reserve of the mammoth Pantabangan Dam, once cleared by the Department of National Defense.
Engr. Rosalinda B. Bote, department manager of the National Irrigation Administration-Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System said a carrier from the Philippine Air Force’s 900th Air Force Weather Group is at standby position in Fort Ramon Magsaysay.
“Pandagdag lang sa Pantabangan Dam ‘yung cloud seeding since very positive kami mag-uulan pa hanggang January,” Bote said, saying they will start irrigation for the dry cropping season on Nov. 16.
As of 6 a.m. Thursday, the water level of Pantabangan Dam was logged at 201.71 meters above sea level, way short of 219.46 meters rule curve or ideal water elevation.
The agency has programmed 109,642.48 hectares for irrigation this dry season based on the projected elevation of 205.27 m by Nov. 30, 2022.
Earlier reports said Bote, along with engineering and operations division manager Vivencia C. Dela Cruz, and the dam and reservoir division headed by Engr. Ernesto D. Ponce had met with the PAF 900AFWG headed by Lt. Col. Paul Michael C. Espera and Bureau of Soil and Water Management team led by Corazon Ditarro to iron out works on cloud seeding operation over Pantabangan Watershed Area in Nueva Ecija.
Bote said NIA-UPRIIS employs several strategies to augment and maximize use of water such as establishing solar-powered pump projects, implementation of alternate wetting and drying water management technology and promotion of diversified cropping system.
