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<br />Idaho PO\\iCr Company <br /> <br />The upper Payette Rivcr drainagc in western Idaho has undergone cloud secding since <br />2003. through a project conducted by Idaho Power. Automated ground-bascd Agl solution- <br />burning generators and aircraft arc employcd to conduct the sceding. The project has includcd <br />some interesting research components. including trace chemistry analyses of the snowpack. <br />Estimates of seasonal (three scasons) seeding ctTectivencss indicatc an avcrage of about 7% to <br />9% increases (Idaho Power. 2005). <br /> <br />UPllcr Gunnison Ri\'Cr <br /> <br />NA WC has operatcd a program for the uppcr Gunnison Rivcr Basin located in west <br />ccntral Colorado for t\'.'o full wintcr seasons and portions of a third (2002-2005). Thc secd mode <br />involvcs ground-based Agl solution burning generators in valley and mountain locations. <br />Ilistorical targct/control cstimatcd avcragc incrcascs ovcr the past two winter seasons of about <br />12-14% in target area snO\v water content (Griffith et a!. 2004: Griffith et al. 2005) utilizing thc <br />historicaltargct/control evaluation technique. <br /> <br />Dennr \Vater <br /> <br />The Denver Board of \Vater Commissioncrs sponsored a \vinter program during the <br />2002-2003 and 2003-2004 \....inter seasons. The program was placed into a stand-by status for thc <br />follO\ving two wintcr seasons. This program is bcing conductcd by Western Weathcr Consultants <br />of Durango. Colorado. Ground-based silver iodide generators are used to seed the upper <br />Colorado Rivcr drainage located on the wcst slopes of the Rocky Mountains west of Denver. <br />NA WC was contracted by the Denver Board of Water Commissioncrs to conduct an independent <br />evaluation ofthc first scason of the secding program (Solak et a!. 2003). This evaluation <br />indicated increases in target arca prccipitation and snowpack in the 15-16% range. <br /> <br />Vail Ski Area <br /> <br />Western Weathcr Consultants of Durango. Colorado has conducted a winter cloud <br />sceding program for the Vail Ski area located in the Ccntral Colorado Rockies since the 1977-78 <br />winter season. ^ network of ground based sil....er iodide gencrators is used to seed this area. An <br />analysis ofthc apparent sceding efTects for this program co....ering a ten year period (1985-1995) <br />was prcpared by Western Weather Consultants (lljcrmstad. 2001). This analysis indicated the <br />following: <br />. An increase in precipitation in the target arca of7-15%. <br />. The most favorable wind directions yielding the highest percentage increases were from <br />wcst though north. <br />. For seeded systems with westerly winds (from 2400 to 2950) much of the precipitation <br />incrcascs seemcd to bc due to an incrcase in the density of the snow in thc targct area. <br />. For secded systems with more northerly wind directions the increased precipitation <br />appears to result from additional inches of snowfall in the target area and the snow <br />density ~comes similar to not sceued areas. <br />