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<br />OVERVIEW OF THE WESTERN KANSAS WEATHER MODIFICATION PROGRAM <br />AND RELATED KANSAS WATER OFFICE ACTIONS <br /> <br />ProJ::ram's Approach to Hail Suppression <br /> <br />Silver iodide and dry ice are delivered to clouds by aircraft By introducing these cloud-seeding <br />agents into the clouds, hailstones are decreased in size and many will melt before they hit the <br />ground; hence reducing the damage to crops and property. <br /> <br />Western Kansas Weather Modification Prol:ram <br /> <br />. In operation since 1975 <br />. Under the leadership of the Westem Kansas Groundwater Management District No. <br />1 (Scott City) <br />. Generally covers around 12 counties in Southwest Kansas <br />. Locally funded (Typically $150,000 to 250,000/year) <br /> <br />Kansas Water Office Role in Weather Modification Prof:ram <br /> <br />. Annual Issuance of a Permit to Operate the Program <br />. Evaluation of the Program Requested by Groundwater Management Districts No.1 <br />and 4 <br />. Prepared new subsection of the State Water Plan (The State Role in Weather <br />Modification) <br />. Kansas Water Authority requested an evaluation of the Program <br />. Financial support from the State was dependent upon a favorable evaluation of the . <br />Program <br /> <br />1994 ProJ::ram Evaluation <br /> <br />. Time Periods 1948-1970 pre-seeding vs, 1979-1993 seeding <br />. Study Areas <br />Target Area (6 counties in Southwest Kansas) received seeding 1979-1993 <br />Control Area (8 counties in Northwest Kansas) no cloud seeding <br />. Crop Hail Damage Records (Kansas Insurance Department, National Crop Insurance <br />Services) <br /> <br />Loss Cost Ratio = <br /> <br />(Insured Crop Hail Damage Loss ) X <br />. 100 <br />Insured Crop Hail Damage Liability <br /> <br />Evaluation Results <br /> <br />. 27% reduction in crop-hail damage in the six county target area <br />. Economic value was estimated at $4,000,000 per year <br />. 37 to 1 cost to benefit ratio <br /> <br />State Budgetine- For Weather Modification <br /> <br />. $120,000 in Kansas Water Office FY 1996 Budget <br /> <br />2 <br />