Cloud-seeding over Magat Dam starts this week

ILAGAN CITY, Philippines —  Cloud-seeding operations over  the Magat watershed in Ramon, Isabela will start this week to raise the dam’s water level and prevent delays in rice planting, according to agriculture and irrigation authorities.

The rain enhancement program seeks to boost water inflows into Magat Dam, which irrigates more than 90,000 hectares of rice farms in Isabela and nearby provinces.

Water supply from Magat has been dwindling due to below-normal rainfall, disrupting land preparation and rice planting activities in some irrigated areas.

An orientation about cloud-seeding was conducted on Wednesday in Cauayan City.

The event was attended by officials of the Department of Agriculture-Cagayan Valley, Bureau of Soils and Water Management, Philippine Air Force and National Irrigation Administration as well as cloud spotters and representatives from the provincial government.

Authorities allocated 30 flying hours for the cloud-seeding activity, which will run until September to help replenish and sustain Magat’s water level.

The aircraft will disperse vacuum-dried iodized salt, a hygroscopic seeding material that helps enlarge water droplets in clouds and increase the chances of rainfall.

Isabela Gov. Rodito Albano expressed hope that the operation would generate sufficient rain to raise and stabilize the water level in Magat.