May 16, 2022 |
The 10 members of the of the Wyoming Water Development Commission on Friday approved a $300,000 proposal to fund a hydrologic study of cloud seeding in the Medicine Bow and Sierra Madre Mountains.
The bid was awarded to NCAR—the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. NCAR is a federally funded research and development center. Much of its work in applied science focuses on meteorology, climate science and atmospheric chemistry.
Cloud seeding is the process of releasing naturally occurring silver iodide into specific types of clouds to amplify and enhance the process of making snow. Ground based generators or airplanes can be used to inject clouds with the chemical agent. A pilot project in the early 2000’s, demonstrated that cloud seeding during the winter months can help increase snowpack over Wyoming’s mountains ranges.
Water Commissioner Ron Kaily of Cheyenne made the motion to approve the contract with NCAR.
Pictured above: File photo of Snowy Range Pass. Photo by Bigfoot 99.
The commissioners approved the proposal without seeing the contract, necessitating the need for the Wyoming Attorney General to approve the contract.
Jason Mead, the interim Director of the Wyoming Water Development Office, said NCAR was the only agency to respond to the request for proposal sent out by his office.
Commissioner Larry Suchor asked Mead if NCAR was the only outfit capable of conducting the study.
The nine-year pilot cloud seeding program in the Medicine Bow and Sierra Madre ranges using ground based generators concluded in 2014. An executive summary prepared for the WWDC in December of that year concluded that physical and modeling analysis suggests that cloud seeding is a viable technology to augment existing water supplies for the two big mountain ranges in south-central Wyoming. While acknowledging that snowpack increases were not significant during the pilot project, statistical analysis showed precipitation increase of three to 17 percent for seeded storms compared to unseeded ones.
The study recommended implementing a cloud seeding program in the Medicine Bow and Sierra Madres using best-practices learned from the pilot project to maximize precipitation and minimize cost.
With the approval Friday of the NCAR contract, the legislature’s select water committee will vote on whether to approve after the review by the state attorney general.
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