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<br />.
<br />
<br />fortuitous that 2003-2004 was relatively dry and 2004-2005 was relatively wet in the Colorado River
<br />Basin, The analysis from this report will be incorporated into the Colorado Winter Storm Climatology
<br />Study being conducted by HDR Engineering and Reclamation on behalf of the CWCB and hopefully in
<br />the Weather Modification White Paper being prepared in Utah, When analyzing potential target areas in
<br />Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona a strict 9,OOO-foot elevation criterion was imposed based on the
<br />comprehensive study entitled "Validation of Precipitation Management by Seeding Winter Orographic
<br />Clouds in the Colorado River Basin", a 1993 Reclamation document known at the CREST Report, The
<br />CWCBlReclamation Study is posted on Reclamation's website at
<br />htlP://www,usbr,gov/pmts/riverslWxModlCO Basin Water Augmentation.pdf. A summary of the report
<br />findings is: I) Cloud seeding generated 369,754 AF in 2004 and 739,717 AF in 2005 from programs in
<br />Colorado and Utah combined, and 2) new target areas are available (terrain above 9,000 ft) in Wyoming,
<br />Utah, Colorado and Arizona 3) developing new target areas in the basin might generate and additional
<br />217,890 AF in a dry year, 285,434 AF in an average year, and 352,978 AF in a wet year. CWCB staff
<br />believes that the report findings will aide in the attractiveness and credibility of using cloud seeding for
<br />water augmentation in the Colorado River Basin, Lower Basin states are interested in pursuing enhanced
<br />cloud seeding operations in the upper Basin States and Colorado/California tour of existing operations in
<br />Colorado is scheduled for late January 2006.
<br />
<br /> Existing Areas Area (km ) 1 April 2004 1 April 2005 Mean Yield
<br /> Yield ac-ft Yield ae-ft 04-05 ae-ft
<br /> Utah 128,902 294,527 211,715
<br /> Colorado . 240,852 499,190 370,021
<br />. Total 369,754 793,717 581,736
<br /> ..-~
<br /> , .
<br /> 217,890 352,978 285,434
<br /> 44,370 587,755 1,146,859 867,307
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />
<br />Lower Colorado River Mile 31 Dredging Work to Start: The Bureau of Reclarnation is preparing to
<br />dredge at River Mile 31 along the lower Colorado River, Mobilization of heavy equipment began on
<br />Monday, December 12, and dredging'started later that week. A floating dredge barge, work boats, and
<br />pipeline will be used during dredge activities. Due to the nature of this oversized equipment, the boat
<br />ramp at River Mile 31 will be closed to the public for the duration of the dredging project, which is
<br />expected to last from 4 to 6 weeks,
<br />
<br />River Mile 31 is located approximately Y2 mile east of Paradise Casino adjacent to the Yuma Upper
<br />Reservation Division Protection Levee on the California side of the Colorado River. Dredging operations
<br />will run 20 hours a day, Monday through Thursday, with no activity planned Friday through Sunday.
<br />Reclamation does not anticipate closing the waterway around the dredging site, but at times passage may
<br />not be permitted for safety reasons, Watercraft operators are encouraged to exercise caution and to stay
<br />clear of all dredging operations,
<br />
<br />This recurring maintenance is a requirement of the River Mile 31 Channel Realignment Project. It will
<br />help maintain sediment control, water circulation and backwater integrity, and will protect the levee in
<br />this reach of the river during higher than normal flows, Approximately 60 thousand cubic yards of
<br />material will be removed from this site and placed on the Quechan Indian Tribe's land just north of the
<br />protection levee,
<br />
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