Farmers in this province have asked the authorities to start implementing cloud seeding operations amid the continuous drop in the dams’ water levels.

Simeon Sioson, a farmer leader from Barangay Lambakin in San Miguel town, in this province, said on Monday that the occasional rainfalls were not sufficient for them to start the land preparations in their rice lands.

“Kung may pag-ulan man hindi din makakapagsaka kasi ang mga pag-ulan ay makabasang baro lamang (If it rains, still we cannot start planting because the amount of rainfall can only wet clothes),” Sioson said in an interview.

Cloud seeding is one of the measures being implemented by concerned agencies in a bid to raise the dam’s water level.

Retired Col. Manuel Lukban, chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO), said the water elevation of Angat Dam as of 8 a.m. on Monday is 188.65 meters, which is now only above 8.65 meters its minimum operating level of 180 meters.

He said Angat dam, which supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s water needs, is now 23.35 meters below its normal high level of 212 meters.

Likewise, Lukban said that water elevations of Ipo and Bustos Dams receded slightly in the past days.

Ipo Dam water level was monitored at 99.00 meters on Monday as against its spilling level of 101.00 meters.

Bustos Dam’s water level, on the other hand, was 17.14 meters as of 6 a.m. Monday.

He said the recent rains brought by Typhoon Betty failed to raise the dams’ water level.

He, however, expressed hope that the dam’s water elevation would soon raise following the start of the rainy season as announced by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration last week. (PNA)