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<br />ou'3t)S~ <br /> <br />At the present time, excess releases are being made from Colorado River <br />storage reservoirs and the high flows going into Mexico are inundating <br />fields and homes, Given these conditions, support for water augmenta- <br />tion is less evident. Commissioner of Water and Power R. Keith Higginson <br />has recognized the need to advance the testing and evaluation of weather <br />modification at a pace that will permit water resource managers enough <br />time to decide on the usefulness of the technology. <br /> <br />At the Commissioner's request, we are preparing estimates of what is <br />required to move as early as Dossible into a field program in the Basin <br />to obtain the necessary information to make a decision on Basinwide <br />operational seeding. <br /> <br />The complete text of Mr. Foehner's presentation is included as Part C-3 <br />of Attachments. <br /> <br />Vern Valantine recommended that PSIAC take action to support the Water <br />and Power Resources Service Precipitation Management Program and that <br />this be considered at the December meeting in Las Vegas. <br /> <br />6. Precipitation Management Activities in Utah - Paul Summers, Utah <br />Division of Water Resources, Salt Lake City, Utah. <br /> <br />The Utah Division of Water Resources in cooperation with Water and Power <br />Resources Service has been ,conducting weather modification projects in <br />the State for the past 7 years. The south and central portions of the <br />State of Utah are water-short areas. This is the area where the preci- <br />pitation management program has been concentrated. The Wasatch Mountain <br />Range provides an excellent area for cloud seeding activities. Cloud <br />seeding has been contracted to North American Weather Consultants who <br />are now based in Salt Lake City. The State has also had a program in <br />three counties in the northern part of the State to decrease hail damage <br />and also to increase precipitation. In the 5 years that this project <br />has been underway there has been very little hail damage suffered. The <br />entire weather precip,tation program has been under the control of the <br />Utah Department of Water'Resources. There has been very little opposi- <br />tion to the program. The cost of winter operation project is approxi- <br />mately $320,000 annually. A technical advisory committee and a program <br />advisory committee provide advice on the program. The State has worked <br />very closely with the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and <br />the Water and Power Resources Service. One of the difficulties in the <br />program is an accurate measurement of the actual precipitation increase. <br />It is indicated that this increase would be in the range of 10-15 percent. <br />Evaluation is made through the use ofa target control area outs.ide the <br />seeded area and correlating historical data with the target area and the <br />seeded area. This evaluation indicates an increased precipitation of <br /> <br />B-3 <br /> <br />J,;, <br /> <br />, <br />