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<br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />7 <br />being done to confirm the technology to the time when <br />maximum water production is underway and extensive testing <br />is no longer required. During the demonstration phase, <br />testing costs will depend on the option chosen, but will <br />average between $6 and $9 million per year for tests in the <br />selected subbasins. Benefits from the demonstration program <br />include a proven technology and an estimated 200,000 acre-feet <br />of water produced annually for a 5-year period valued at <br />$8.4 million per year. <br /> <br />Costs for an operational program will vary between $11 and <br />$15 million per year depending upon the final decision <br />regarding ground seeding or aircraft seeding and the continu- <br />ing requirements for monitoring. <br /> <br />Partial economic benefits were determined in 1981 using the <br />conservative estimate for water supply increases of <br />1,315,000 acre-feet within the Upper Basin as input to the <br />Bureau's Colorado River Simulation System model. The <br />results of the analysis indicated that precipitation augmen- <br />tation would produce estimated economic benefits totaling at <br />least $80 million annually (1981 dollars) from the following <br />sources: $29 million from increased hydroelectric capacity <br />and power generation based on coal replacement cost of <br />20 mills per kilowatt-hour, $41 million from salinity reduction <br />