BOARD00272

• Board Meeting Date: 7/28/2003
• Description: Flood Section - Weather Modification Program
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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making them available over the Internet in a continuing effort make reports and data readily available and
.further the science of weather modification in the Nation,
Weather Modification Association: The CWCB has joined the Weather Modification
Association as an affiliate member that is a professional group of meteorologists, government regulators,
scientists and the operational community. CWCB staff attended and reported on Colorado at the NAIWC
meeting South Dakota in April 2003, The CWCB was invited to participate as a voting member of the
Council in future meetings. The CWCB hopes to attend the next NAIWC meeting as a voting member
but the dues around $5,000 per year far exceed any current capability to participate,
North American Interstate Weather Modification Council: Based on funding and guidance
from the CWCB Board the CWCB should consider joining the NAIWC, The NAIWC meets twice a year
and is comprised of western program regulators. Staff believes that this is a fonun to coordinate western
U.S. efforts and is a link between water managers, the meteorological, and scientific community.
Severance Tax Operational Account grant project: The CWCB has a $25,000 severance tax
grant application for Fiscal year 2004 for a project entitled "Feasibility of Wintertime Orographic
Precipitation Enhancement in Colorado's Watersheds", Most of this project idea came from John Henz of
HDR Engineering and is designed to answer the questions, if you wanted to cloud seed in your watershed
what does the storm data tell you from the last 30 years (I 972-2002)? And is this appropriate technology
for all of the watersheds in Colorado or specifically which ones will it work well in?
GIS and web map project: With the advent of collected fees staff set out to make more reporting
and basic information about the projects more readily available, The project has GJ.S, maps of all the
states wintertime operations and makes the SNOTEL and Snowcourse information in the target areas
available through links on the website. This project started with data assembled by the Denver Water
GJ.S. coordinator and expanded it to include all of the states programs. Once completed this summer, the
permits, reports and target area and generator location maps will be available on the CWCB website.
. USBR grant proposal: The CWCB is working with Western Weather Consultants, Colorado
State University, and Curt Hartzel a retired USBR meteorologist to develop a proposal and apply for
federal grant funds from the USBR - Weather Modification Damage Fund, This project hopes to use
numerical modeling and physical measurements during an operational season to further quantify the
positive snowfall effects from cloud seeding, Last year three of eight proposals were funded due to
limited funding and competition by the Bureau's 17 western states, It is anticipated that $800,000 will be
available through the competitive grant process, RFP's are due in August 2003 with the funds awarded in
October 2003.
Cooperative Programs: The Gunnison County program operated by Don Griffith of North
American Weather Consultants out of Sandy, Utah and Gunnison County Manager John Devore
convinced almost all local water interests of the benefits from seeding and put together a program that
includes nearly all the water users in the county. It is anticipated that another program and permit
encompassing the southwest part of the Gunnison County and parts of Hinsdale and Saguache County,
State Spending Authority: There is no annual appropriation for the weather modification
program, There is only spending authority for up to $7,100 that can be collected from fees from
commercial projects. A DNR decision item this year is to increase spending authority to $20,000 per
year that should allow the CWCB to collect the full 2% commercial fees from programs for the next few
years. However, the fees collected in 2002-2003 were approximately $13,000 and are insufficient to
complete expand the program from the current level.
Summary: Controversy in this program is no doubt prevalent and iron clad scientific and
operational data needs to be improved. But at the heart of these efforts is the only really way to truly
increase water supply. Joe Busto of the CWCB staff believes that cloud seeding is not the answer to water
. problems but a piece of the puzzle and may prove useful as general augmentation and for drought
preparedness in years before future forecasted droughts, It may be beneficial to meet water users needs
and also may benefit our state programs like Stream Restoration, Stream and Lake Protection,
Conservation and Drought Planning, and Water Supply Protection, Many other western states, for lack
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