16-l ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 11/18/2007
• Description: CF Section - En-bloc Non-Reimbursable - CWCB Weather Modification Permitting Program
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

STATE OF COLORADO
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Deneer, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
wuu . c~~ cb. state. co. us
Bill Ritter, Jr.
TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members Uo.e~rior
FROM: Joe Busto Harris D. Sherman
DNR Executiee Director
Watershed Protection and Flood Mitigation Section
Dan McAuliffe
Acting CWCB Director
DATE: November 5, 2007
SUBJECT: Agenda Item 16 L, November 14-15, 2007 Board Meeting
CWCB Weather Modification Permitting Program
Background
CWCB non-reimbursable funding has been available to water users that sponsor wintertime cloud
seeding operations to augment snowpack and streamllow in Colorado. The CWCB provided
$20K in 2004, $60K in 2005, $75K in 2006, and $150K in 2007; staff is now requesting $175K
for winter 2008-09 operations. The funding assists water conservancy districts, water
conservation districts, and other water users with grants for operations, modernizing and adding
equipment, and evaluations.
Current cloud seeding programs eligible for CWCB non-reimbursable investments are: The San
Juan Mountains Program (Southwestern WCD & others), Upper San Miguel/Dolores Basin
Program (Southwestern WCD & Dolores WCD), Gunnison Basin Program (Gunnison County),
Central Colorado Rockies (Denver Water), Upper Roaring Fork Basin (Colorado Springs Utilities)
and the Grand Mesa Program (Water Enhancement Authority). Water users have requested CWCB
assistance due to our role in state water planning.
On March 17, 2007 amulti-year agreement was executed between the CWCB, Southern Nevada
Water Authority, Central Arizona Water Conservancy District, and Metro Water District of
Southern California as part of pursuing water augmentation for the Colorado River Seven Basin
States. The concepts of system water, non assignable, subordinating to laws and compacts, all
ensure the agreements are in good faith. Each year exhibits are added to a base agreement once
priority activities have been agreed to and signed off on. An action plan for the cloud seeding in
the Colorado River Basin is being drafted now with Randy Seaholm, Ted Kowalski, and Joe
Busto as the Colorado representatives. The CWCB, the New Mexico Interstate Stream
Commission and water users in Nevada, California, and Arizona are all now partnering around
cloud seeding in Colorado. Similar agreements were developed in Utah and Wyoming.
Water Supply R•otection • Flood Protection • Stream & Lake Protection • Rater Supply Planning & Finance
Water Conservation & Drought Planning • Intrastate Water Management & llevelopment