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<br />BUREAU OF RECLAMATION <br /> <br />PROJECT SKYWATER <br />WATER AUGMENTATION THROUGH CLOUD SEEDING <br /> <br />OVERVIEW <br /> <br />One of the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) programs which is gammg increased <br />application and worldwide interest is Project Skywater -- a cloud seeding program to augment <br />precipitation and resulting fresh water supplies. It is the Federal government's only applied <br />research and development program in precipitation enhancement for water augmentation. <br />Project Skywater is directed by Reclamation's Water Augmentation Group (formerly the <br />Division of Atmospheric Resources Research) located in Denver, Colorado. Reclamation is <br />recognized internationally for its leadership and capabilities in the development and application <br />of precipitation enhancement technologies as a water management tool. <br /> <br />Cloud seeding is but one of several resource management tools available to help meet critical <br />water needs. It does not preclude continued planning and development of other water <br />management alternatives, nor does it lessen the commitment to improve water conservation <br />practices, but the cloud seeding alternative does have many unique and attractive features. <br />Currently, it appears to be the most cost-effective means of securing additional water. It does <br />not require major, permanent construction and large-fixed operation and maintenance costs. <br />Moreover, a decision to employ cloud seeding is reversible on a year-to-year, even <br />storm-to-storm basis within a season, should local hydrology, weather patterns or public <br />interests so dictate. <br /> <br />In 1975, the Secretary of the Interior released the comprehensive Westwide Study Report on <br />Critical Water Problem Facing the 11 Western States which concluded: <br /> <br />"Taking into consideration availability, quantity, quality, and cost of the <br />augmentation alternatives, weather modification appears to be the most promising <br />source of new water supply in the Western United States." <br /> <br />PHILOSOPHY AND APPROACH <br /> <br />Reclamation's role in weather modification began in 1962 when the United States Congress <br />appropriated funds for research on increasing rainfall through cloud seeding with the direction <br />that emphasis should be placed on actual water production. Thus, the objective of Project <br />Skywater has been to develop scientifically-sound cloud seeding techniques for augmenting <br />supplies of fresh water, wherever needed, which are compatible with environmental, social and <br />economic considerations. <br /> <br />1 <br />