NOVEMBER 19, 2024|
Photo – Examples of deployment types for cloud seeding – Courtesy WWDC
The Wyoming Water Development Commission has agreed to fund another year of cloud seeding in the Sierra Madre and Snowy Range mountains.
On Wednesday, November 13th, the Wyoming Water Development Commission and the Select Water Committee met in Casper to discuss funding requests. More than 40 municipalities and state agencies asked for money to fund various water-related projects.
Barry Lawrance, Deputy Director of Planning at the Wyoming Water Development Office, requested nearly $1.2 million to continue both ground-based and aerial cloud seeding programs in the Wind River, Sierra Madre, and Snowy Mountain Ranges.
Lawrance began his presentation by asking the Water Development Commission for $875,000 for aerial cloud seeding next winter. The deputy director of planning explained how his department uses a plane armed with specialized equipment to trigger snowfall over the Sierra Madres and Snowy Range.
Lawrance said the added winter snowfall helps feed the North Platte and Little Snake River basins. The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities, which uses snowmelt from the mountains to supplement its water supply, contributes $50,000 annually to the aerial seeding program.
Lawrance said cloud seeding has recently been proven to increase snowfall and pointed to the Seeded and Natural Orographic Wintertime Clouds: The Idaho Experiment, or SNOWIE project, as evidence. The deputy director of planning said the SNOWIE project conducted by Idaho Power and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research showed, for the first time, the direct transition of ice crystals into snowflakes using silver iodide cloud seeding.
With the technology now proven to work, Lawrance discussed the effectiveness of Wyoming’s aerial cloud seeding program in the Sierra Madre and Snowy Mountain Ranges.
The deputy director said a state-funded hydrological assessment study, using data from the 2019 through 2020 season, showed a significant increase in precipitation in areas where cloud seeding occurred.
Lawrance said the study showed that 78% of the added precipitation made its way into local streams, with the Upper North Platte and Upper Laramie Rivers seeing the most benefit from the seeding program. The deputy director of planning said the project cost between $57 and $124 per additional acre foot of water generated.
Next, Deputy Director of Planning Lawrance asked for an additional $322,143 to fund ground-based cloud seeding in the Wind River and Sierra Madre Mountains through next winter. The increased precipitation flows into the Colorado River Basin.
The Wyoming Water Development Office has teamed up with South Dakota-based Weather Modification International to install 13 ground-based cloud seeding generators in the Cowboy State.
Nine of the devices are in the Wind River Mountains, one is situated south of Lander, and the remaining three are in the Sierra Madres. The state rents all the generators from Weather Modification International. Lawrance mentioned that the company only charges the state when the generators are operating.
Lawrance informed the Water Development Commission that seven years ago, Wyoming joined Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah to form the Colorado River Basin Weather Modification Program. The deputy director said the participating states contribute money to increase precipitation in the Upper Colorado River Basin through cloud seeding. However, the agreement is set to expire next year.
Lawrance said as part of the agreement, Nevada, Arizona, and California contribute $1.5 million annually to the Colorado River Basin Weather Modification Program. The money is split evenly between Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, with each state receiving $500,000 for its cloud seeding efforts.
The deputy director said he expects to receive an additional $40,000 from local governments and private entities and asked the Water Development Commission for $322,000.
Lawrance said all seven states are in talks to extend the Colorado River Basin Weather Modification Program agreement into the future.
House District One Representative Chip Neiman pointed out that Colorado and Utah exclusively use ground-based cloud seeding generators. Representative Neiman asked why those states do not use aerial seeding as well.
Weather Modification International Vice President of Meteorology Bruce Boe explained that until recently, Colorado collaborated with Wyoming on the aerial seeding program. However, Colorado decided to withdraw from the partnership because it was not receiving the same level of attention as Wyoming.
Deputy Director of Planning Lawrance said the Utah legislature is in the process of expanding the state’s cloud seeding efforts, which may include aerial application in the future.
The Water Development Commission and Select Water Committee voted to approve both cloud seeding funding requests, totaling nearly $1.2 million.
