27d

• Board Meeting Date: 11/19/2008
• Description: CF Section - En-Bloc Non-Reimbursable Investment Recommendations - CWCB Weather Modification Program - Water User Cost Share Assistance
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Water Project Construction Program - Project Data
Non-Reimbursable Investment
Grantee: County:
Colorado Water Conservation Board Statewide
Project Name:
Weather Modification - Water User Cost Share Assistance
Project Type
: Grants for operations, grants for optimi zation of permitted cloud seeding programs
Drainage Basin: Water Source
San Juan, Gunnison, Colorado : N/A
Total Project Cost Funding Source
: $591,000 (Annual Total Avg.) : CWCB Const. Fund
Type of Grantee CWCB Non-Reimbursable Inv.:
: Local Government $175,000
SUMMARY
The CWCB has authority to permit and regulate weather modification
operations in Colorado (C.R.S 36-20-101 through 36-20-127). The
CWCB also has authorities to aide in the water development. In section
36-20-108(4)(b) it states that “The director may represent the State and
assist counties, municipalities, and pub lic agencies in contracting with
commercial operators for the performance of weather modification or
cloud seeding operations.” This request is cost-share in the development
of wintertime cloud seeding programs and could be considered building
local capacity. The Grand Mesa, Gunnison Basin, Upper Roaring Fork
River Basin, and Southwest River Basins all benefit from augmentation to
mountain snowpack. Water augmentation agreements between the
CWCB, the State of New Mexico, a nd three Colorado River Basin Water
Users were developed to support Colorado’s cloud seedi ng programs. In 2007-08 the CWCB received $177K funding
from these out-of-state sources to assist the local programs. The CWCB appropriation
leverages and cooperates with other states and locals around snowpack augmentation to
benefit our river systems. The Western Weathe r Consultants annual re ports estimates that:
61,675 AF of snowpack Snow water equivale nt (swe) was produced in the Western San
Juan Mountains; 38,240 AF in the Eastern San Juan Mountains; 27,840 AF of snowpack
swe in the Telluride area; and 20,520 AF of snowpack SWE was generated in the Roaring
Fork River Basin. The funding is also used for modernization of their programs to ensure
that all of our resources are being wisely invest ed. Evaluations have shown it is important
to reliably release seeding material in cl ouds in order to achieve a 10% increase in
snowpack swe in a target area. Nevada went to remote opera ted (analog cellular
communication) generators in 1975 in order to reliably release the seeding material near
clouds. Colorado’s has 99 manually operated gene rators and some are in mountain valleys.
Our first remote operated generator was lo aned to the Grand Mesa program through
agreement in November 2007. This genera tor was relocated from 6,000 - to 8,000 foot
elevation once a location was found on private land with a strong cellular signal. In the
picture the old manual operated generator is tan (right), a propane tank (middle), and Colo rado’s first remote operated
generator (green) are shown.
Total Grants Distribution (07-08)
During the winter 2007-08 the CWCB, Colorado River Wa ter Users, and New Mexico agreements totaled
$327,000. The CWCB provided $150,000 of that total, and the funding was used as follows:
66% ($215,500) grants to operations:
$40K to the Gunnison Program for a $90K total program, $15K to the Grand Mesa Program for a $27K total program
o
$35K to the Western San Juan Program for a total 97K program; $69K to the Eastern San Juan Program for a $104K
total program, $30,000 to the Telluride/Western Dolores Program for a $72K total program, $26,500 to the Colorado
Springs Program for total of a $66,500 total program
32% ($106,000) equipment upgrades:
$20,000 to loan and install one remote cloud seeding generator, $64,000 to build one remote generator for the Grand
o
Mesa, $22,000 to order weather station parts for target areas in San Juan and Gunnison Basins
2% ($9,000) for literature review for down wind effects of wintertime cloud seeding