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<br />PREFACE <br /> <br />The Senate Select Conunittee on National Water Resources reported iln <br />January 1961 that 5 of the 22 water resource regions within the con- <br />terminous United States would be using' all available water suppli~ls by <br />or before 1980. All five regions for which short water resources were <br />projected are in the Western United States. <br /> <br />In September 1961 the 87th Congress authorized the Bureau of Reclamation <br />to initiate "research on increasing rainfall by cloud seeding." Since <br />receiving this initial direction the Bureau has directed and sponsored a <br />comprehensi ve research program known as Proj ect Skywater, which includes <br />15 field experiments to further the understanding of cloud physics, and <br />to learn how the precipitation process may be altered by artificial <br />means. <br /> <br />Project Skywater's immediate goal is to develop the capability for <br />increasing or redistributing precipitation. Key features are the devel- <br />opment of the technical systems to accomplish the desired precipitation <br />enhancement and the management techniques for beneficially integrating <br />the technical capabilities with our environment and society. <br /> <br />The long-range goal is to develop by 1990 a practical nationwide tech- <br />nology to increase precipitation an average of 10 to 20 percent in spe- <br />cific areas. To accomplish the overall objective, there must be <br />regional capabilities with working relationships between numerous govern- <br />mental agencies, universities, and private groups; <br /> <br />The purpose of this working document is to provide backgroWld data on the <br />state of the art of weather modification and to answer the questions <br />raised by the Western U.S. Water Plan's Management Group as to its aug- <br />mentation potential. <br /> <br />i <br />