WMOD00301 ‎(2)‎

• Title: Conceptual Plan to Develop Water Augmentation by Weather Modification in the Colorado River
• Date: 5/14/1979
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Report

ORA F T

several research projects by Vardiman and Moore 14/ defined the major

,
characteristics and developed generalized criteria for winter cloud

.

seeding. These criteria provided much of the technical basis for the
large operational seeding programs in Colorado and Utah from 1976

and added to the scientific basis for increased confidence

in weather modification.

The estimated seeding effect of 10 to 20 percent should cause an

average of 2 to 4 inches more winter precipitation in the Colorado

Basin mountains which relates to about 20 to 48 inches more snowfall

and generally 6 to 15 inches more snowpack.

There have been three well-documented studies estimating the average
annual water augmentation potential for seeding in the upper Colorado
River Basin.

October 1967 - Bureau of Reclamation 15/

- 1,870,000 acre-feet

May 1972
May 1973

- Stanford Research Institute 16/ - 2,300,000 acre-feet

- North American Weather

- 1,315,000 acre-feet

Consultants 17/

."

The Stanford Research Institute study estimated 1,200,000 acre-feet
would also be produced outside the Colorado Basin by seeding within
the Basin. The NAWC (North American Weather Consultants) study along

'"

15