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<br />':'. <br /> <br />", <br /> <br />" <br />;:c 1- <br />--T"". <br /> <br />r <br />I <br />" <br />I <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br />almost u[onein developing the Colorado River water supply. Congressional <br />action wiU be required to authorize a \VaSA p~~am. . ~-- <br />, A declaration b~' Congress Ihut \VaSA water is allocated 10 the Mexican <br />Water Treaty would roreclo~e many of the policy options for .10 operational <br />'program. The economic. justification of such a program would then be based <br />011 a determination that WOSA is the least costly means for augmenting the <br />water sUJ>p/y. This alJocation is considered an open policy question requiring <br />Congressional resolution. <br />The type of economic justification for WOSA would be determined by the <br />type of policy under which it is implemented. If it is state operated, the justifica- <br />tion would be based on a concept of regional (or state) economic efficiency. <br />Under federal authority, the economic justification would be based on policy <br />derived from reclamation policy. This policy incorporates a subsidy to irrigated <br />agriculture but iUs couched in the temlinology of national economic efficiency. <br />Although Ihis poHey still affects western watcr resources development to a <br />major degree, there are developments that jl!~tify an economic evaluation of <br />WaSA in terms of anticipated evolution of this policy and also in terms of <br />unconstrained national cconomic efficiency. <br />An emerging waterrcsources policy dcvelopmeJlt that could influence Ole <br />ecopomie justification of WaSA is the lrtmsfer of water from agriculture to <br />urban u:res. Similarly, existing policy justifies consideration of several alterna~ <br />tlves to WaSA in the economic analysis of Colorlldo River augmentation, vi%;" <br />geothermal demineralized water. watcr salvage. importation, and desalination:., <br /> <br /> <br />2. Augmenting the Colorado River by WOSA <br /> <br />During winter in the, Upp~rColorado River Basin, supercooJed clouds <br />are formed over the higher ele.vations a-; moist air. is forccd by strong winds <br />over the major mountain masses. Under certain favorable conditions as sum~ <br />marizcd below. the precipitation that would occur naturally from these clouds <br />can be increased by secding with silver iodide smoke. The air mass must have a <br />, <br />high moisture content. and the cloud, inclu~i,!~ its uE~: boundil~.2.hould <br />1?.$.\varnieTthan---=-~~ Th~r....n.~nLOLan:ftow pt:rpetlGtClthr to fbr "101ln- <br />talJLrid~~lalivcly-str.Q!1~~.JLnd it mll<:t I'll' rn"~il).),, tQ .-nsp'-'r<:~, silver. <br />io;fuLc..particles within the ililud.ln-imf!J;Qp.Qate numbers to scr~e. as ice crystal, <br />OI,IdeL lit Silver iodide smoke from grounct.basedgenerators must be diffused <br />oy turbulence and lifted by airHo\.... into cloud regions that are colder than <br />-1 ooC. The ice crystals formed must have time to grow to a size that wiJl fall <br />to eanhbdore reaching the downdrafts that c,xist on the far side of the moun- <br />t:lm. <br />Au operational cloud seeding systcm was postulated based on the tech- <br />nical details of these proce.<;ses. The system consists of-centralized management <br />control, evaluation, and public service functions, with target area operational <br />services and maintenance districts to cover all of the potentially useful!!eeding <br />~ Small .particles abour whkh ice crystal [ormation and growth l:tkesplace. <br /> <br />xi <br />