BPPT to try cloud seeding in Wonogiri, Kedungombo<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As part of the effort to address the ongoing drought in some
\nareas in the country, the Technology Application and Assessment
\nAgency (BPPT) plans to seed clouds in the Central Java districts
\nof Wonogiri and Kedungombo beginning on July 16.<\/p>\n
BPPT official, Baginda Patar Sitorus, told Antara on Tuesday
\nthat even though the chances of the project succeeding were rated
\nat only 30 percent, the agency was nevertheless determined to go
\nahead with the planned cloud seeding.<\/p>\n
\"Ideally, the cloud seeding should have begun between March
\nand June when there were plenty of clouds around. There have been
\nrequests to seed the clouds recently, which is a bit late. But we
\nare committed to doing what is necessary,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Kedungombo and Wonogiri are home to the province's largest
\nreservoirs.<\/p>\n
Baginda said the decision to carry out the pilot project was
\ntaken during a meeting of a joint team comprising BPPT experts
\nand officials from the Ministry of Resettlement and Regional
\nInfrastructure recently.<\/p>\n
The ministry, Baginda said, had provided Rp 10 billion to fund
\nthe project, but it would not be available until after the cloud
\nseeding had taken place.<\/p>\n
\"We will cover the cost of the project and the government can
\nreimburse the money in a year,\" Baginda said.<\/p>\n
The ministry's inability to come up with the money it had
\ncommitted itself to providing has restricted the cloud seeding
\nprogram to two areas, according to Baginda.<\/p>\n
The BPPT had previously been involved in discussions with
\nprovincial settlement and infrastructure agencies in East Java,
\nKalimantan and Sumatra to plan cloud seeding there.<\/p>\n
Drought has hit some parts of the country, with thousands of
\nhectares of rice withering away due to the lack of water. The
\nabnormal drought, which began two months ago, is expected to last
\nuntil November.<\/p>\n
The drought has also resulted in a decline in the water level
\nof the Darma reservoir in the West Java regency of Kuningan.<\/p>\n
Head of the River Resources Management Agency, which oversees
\nthe Cimanuk and Cisanggurang rivers, Utju Sumiarsa, told Antara
\non Tuesday that better water management was needed to keep the
\nreservoir from drying out totally.<\/p>\n
\"In the past, the reservoir supplied water to sugar
\nplantations and factories only. But now, it also supplies water
\nfor rice field irrigation and to the local public water utility,\"
\nUtju said.<\/p>\n
Farmers in Kuningan and the neighboring towns of Cirebon,
\nIndramayu and Majalengka are dependent on water supplies from the
\nreservoir.<\/p>\n
Utju also blamed years of sedimentation for the decline in the
\nwater storage capacity of the dam. He said the storage capacity
\nhad dropped from 40 million cubic meters to 30 million since the
\nreservoir was built during the Dutch colonial period.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bppt-to-try-cloud-seeding-in-wonogiri-kedungombo-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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