WMOD00304 ‎(2)‎

• Project Name: CREST
• Title: Colorado River Enhanced Snowpack Test
• Date: 1/1/1982
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Report

THE ALTERNATIVES

Cloud seeding and the resulting
increase of snowpack is but one of
several resource management tools
available to meet the Basin's water
needs. Other methods and concepts
are potentially useful in our efforts
to add to the volume of water in the
Colorado. Prior to developing the
plan for the CREST program, five
possible measures for augmenting the
river were identified and considered
for use either as combined efforts or
individual projects. The five
methods were:

--Importation of water from other
river basins
--Desalting of seawater and
geothermal brines
--Evaporation suppression
--Vegetation management to increase
~n~f
--Weather modification to increase
snowpack and runoff

Two of the options considered,
importation and desalination, are not
practical because of the high
construction costs, unacceptable
energy requirements and environmental
i~pacts. Evaporation suppression has
also bee~ considered, however the

technology associated with this
method is not adequate"for the
reservoirs on the ColoradO River.

Vegetation management on forest
watersheds to increase runoff is
another method being researched.
This approach, combined with weather
modification holds more promise of
increasing runoff than if the two
methods are employed separately.

Of the w~thods considered, weather
modification has the most potential
for delivering results. In
comparison with-ehe other
alternatives mentioned, cloud seeding
offers several advantages. The
technology has been developed to a
level which suggests that an
operational program is now possible.
No permanent construction costs are
involved. Program costs, which
include the operation and maintenance
of aircraft, and ongoing
environmental monitoring and
protection, are small in comparison
to the operational benefits. Perhaps
the most attractive advantage of
weather modification is its
adaptability and responsiveness to a
variety of conditions. The decision
to employ seeding can be made on a
year-to-year, season-to-season,
storm-to-storm basis.

CREST PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

The CREST program is designed to
provide the foundation upon which a
Basinwide operational cloud seeding
plan can be based. As a
demonstration program, CREST will
address five principal oDjectives:

--Demonstration of Technology
--Production of Water
--Confir.nation of Increases
--Assessment of Social and
Environmental Impacts
--Reduction of ~iskS

The primary objective of CREST is to
demonstrate the effectiveness of
cloud seeding teChnology as a means
of increasing snowpack. Once proven,
the teChnology can be applied in a
Basinwide operational program. The
CREST program will allow the most
efficient and cost-effective weather
modification methodS to be developed
before proceeding with a full
operation.

CREST has been designed to prOduce
the highest possible amount of water
through cloud seeding while meeting

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