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<br />7-2090 (4-81) <br />Bureau ot Reclamation <br /> <br />TECHNICAL REPORT STANDARD TITLE PAGE <br /> <br />1 RE:::'-::C- ~C T2. GOVERNMENT ACC~saION NO. 3. RECIPIENT'S CATALOG NO. <br /> R-91-10 <br />4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE S. REPORT DATE <br /> THE FEASIBILITY OF ENHANCING STREAMFLOW December 1991 <br /> IN THE SEVIER RIVER BASIN OF UTAH BY 6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE <br /> SEEDING WINTER MOUNTAIN CLOUDS <br />7. AUTHOR(S) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION <br /> Arlin B. Super and David W. Reynolds REPORT NO. <br /> D-3720 <br />9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. WORK UNIT NO. <br /> Bureau of Reclamation R-91-10 <br /> Denver Office 11. CONTRACT OR GRANT NO. <br /> Denver CO 80225 <br /> 13. TYPE OF REPORT AND PERIOD <br /> COVERED <br />12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS <br /> Same <br /> 14. SPONSORING AGENCY CODE <br /> DIBR <br />IS. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES <br /> Microfiche and hard copy available at the Denver Office, Denver, Colorado. <br />16. ABSTRACT <br /> The Bureau of Reclamation conducted a feasibility study of seeding winter mountain clouds as a possible <br /> means of enhancing the water supplies of the Sevier River Basin of Utah. A considerable body of pertinent <br /> meteorological observations from in or near the basin is examined. The evidence indicates that Utah winter <br /> mountain clouds often have more supercooled liquid water available than is naturally converted to snowfall. <br /> Thus, the needed "raw material" for cloud seeding to be effective is frequently available. Much of the excess <br /> liquid water has been found in the lowest kilometer or less over the mountain barriers, a region that can be <br /> seeded with properly located ground generators, This zone is too warm for silver iodide seeding during some <br /> storms and other agents, such as propane, should also be considered. <br /> Past operational and experimental seeding projects in the region are examined. There are suggestions from <br /> some analyses that seeding has produced about 10 percent more precipitation on a seasonal basis. However, <br /> other analyses have disputed these suggestions and it is concluded that the question of the effectiveness of <br /> current seeding practices is still an open one. It is recommended that a two phase demonstration program <br /> be conducted to place the emerging technology of winter cloud seeding on a firm scientific foundation. <br /> Physical experiments should be emphasized which document all key links in the chain of physical processes <br /> following seeding. <br /> Benefit-cost ratios for an operational seeding program are estimated with the caveat that a number of <br /> assumptions need further testing. However, if seeding could produce additional snowfall even approaching <br /> 10 percent per winter, the value of the additional water would likely exceed, and perhaps far exceed, the cost <br /> of seeding operations. <br />17. KEY WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS <br />a. DESCR/PTORSu weather modification! cloud seeding! precipitation augmentation! precipitation <br /> enhancement! artificial seeding! cloud physics! orographic clouds! supercooled liquid water! cloud <br /> liquid water! liquid water content! ice crystals! snow! precipitation! plume tracking! transport and. <br /> dispersion! clouds <br />b. IDENTIF IERS-- Sevier River Basin! Wasatch Plateau! Sanpete Valley! Cedar Breaks <br />c. COSATI Field/Group COWRR: SRIM: <br />18. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT 19. SECURITY CLASS 121. NO. OF PAGES <br />Available from the National Technical Information Service. Operations (THIS REPORT) 70 <br /> UNCLASSIFIED <br />Division, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22/6/. 20. SECURITY CLASS 22. PRICE <br /> (THIS PAGEl <br /> UNCLASSIFIED <br />