WMOD00272

• Title: The Feasibility of Operational Cloud Seeding in the North Platte River Basin Headwaters to Increase Mountain Snowfall
• Prepared For: US Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclaimation
• Prepared By: Jonnie G. Medina, Technical Service Center, Water Resources Services
• Date: 5/1/2000
• County: Statewide
• State: CO
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Scientific Study

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7. PROGRAM TIME SCHEDULE

The proposed program will be conducted over a 13-year period. The design phase would be conducted
during the first 3 years and the operational seeding phase would begin at the end of the third year and
continue through 10 winters. Table 4.1 (section 4.4) presents a time schedule for the overall program.
Table 7.1 presents a more detailed time account for the design phase. Three years are required for the
design phase because of cloud seeding tests are needed for two winters, and environmental compliance
and permitting will require two to three years. Moreover, equipment siting will likely proceed gradually.
The three quarters of the first year will involve extensive weather and cloud modeling, historical weather
data studies, and the initiation of environmental compliance and permitting. Once the design phase study
sites are selected, permits can be obtained for installation of equipment and compliance with
environmental regulation achieved for expected limited effects of design phase cloud seeding. It is hoped
that cloud seeding tests can begin in the fourth quarter of the first year and continue through April ofthe
second year. Seeding tests would be completed the following winter. Analysis offield data

Table 7.1. - Time Line for the Program Design Phase (calendar year quarters).

TASK

Conduct cloud modeling;
analyze results & compare
with SPL data

Conduct environmental
compliance studies and
permitting

Develop design phase cloud
treatment plan

Obtain/install field equipment
for design phase

Conduct cloud treatment;
collect data

Analyze field data and model
estimates

Evaluate cloud treatment
results; develop operational
program seeding design

QI
YI

Q2 Q3
YI YI

Q2 Q3 Q4 QI
Y2 Y2 Y2 Y3

Q2 Q3
Y3 Y3

Q4
Y3

Q4 QI
YI Y2

would be conducted after each winter with seeding. Evaluation of effects on precipitation for all test
trials would occur in the fall of the third year. The finalizing of the operational cloud seeding design is
expected to occur in the second and third quarters of the thir4 year, along with completion of
environmental compliance permitting. Installation of additional equipment for the operational cloud
seeding would occur in the late fall of the tlhird year. Operational cloud seeding would commence about
December of the third year.

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