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<br />$5.5 million from water supplies to reduce deficits in Arizona and <br />California, and $5 million from 400,000 acre-feet available for new <br />uses. Additional benefits, although not quantified in dollar values, <br />would be realized from the increased water supply in the Lower Basin <br />from seeding in the Mogollon Rim area in Arizona and from additional <br />water supplies produced in adjacent basins. <br /> <br />A 10- to 15-percent increase in snowfall can result in benefits and <br />inconveniences for mountain communities. Benefits include additional <br />snow for the ski industry and other wi nter recreation activities. <br />Additional precipitation may also relieve moisture stress in mountain <br />vegetative communities and reduce chances of disease in the forests <br />[15J. <br /> <br />The most common complaint about additional snowfall in alpine <br />communities is the perceived increase in snow removal costs. An <br />assessment of potential effects of cloud seeding in a mountain <br />setting was conducted by the California Department of Transportation <br />[18J. The assessment considered: (1) the effect if snowpack were <br />increased up to 15 percent per annum in normal or below normal years, <br />(2) manpower and equipment requirements for snow removal per year and <br />per storm under historic conditions, and (3) the costs for dry, <br />average, and wet years. liThe study found little direct relationship <br />to increased costs for small incremental changes in storm size <br />because of the amount of equipment and manpower necessary to maintain <br />a traversable roadway under frost conditions or handle the problems <br />of freeze-thaw of snowbanks adjacent to the roadway which cause icy <br />conditions. Also, road closures are more frequently caused by <br />blowing and drifting snow or severe icing conditions than the amount <br />of snowfall. II [8J <br /> <br />Ranchers in the high country are concerned that cloud seeding may <br />result in earlier than normal as well as later than usual snowpacks <br />thereby making alpine pastures unavailable for longer periods each <br />year. Ranchers are al so concerned that preci pi tat i on increases wi 11 <br />drive game herds to lower feeding ranges, consequently competing <br />with domestic stock and probably maraudi ng haystacks. Others are <br />concerned that increased duration of snowpack in certain areas may <br />cause inconvenience or delay in access for mining and timber har- <br />vesting activities. These effects are possible as the result of <br />significant increases in snowpack; however, they are not at all <br />certai n. Arrangements will be requi red to monitor the extent and <br />effects of precipitation increases during the project so that appro- <br />priate compensatory measures or additional suspension criteria can be <br />developed to mitigate or preclude significant adverse effects of <br />cloud seeding. <br /> <br />Although one of the primary benefits of augmentation of the Basin's <br />water supplies will be to meet obligations under the Mexican Treaty, <br />the increased water has not been assigned to a particul ar owner or <br />use. Thus far in the history of cloud seeding in the Western United <br />States, the additional precipitation received in a watershed has been <br />used to supplement the system as a whole. In this fashion, all users <br /> <br />20 <br />