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<br />, <br /> <br />'," <br /> <br />003357 <br /> <br />PART II: TECHNICAL REPORT <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />1. BACKGROUND <br /> <br /> <br />As described by the Colorado State Climatologist, the winter of <br /> <br /> <br />1977 (October 1976-April 1977) was "incredibly" dry, and was "the driest <br /> <br /> <br />winter since the turn of the century for western Colorado." The extent <br /> <br />of the impact of the lack of snow was revealed in a series of drought <br /> <br /> <br />workshops conducted by the Colorado State University Extension Service. <br /> <br /> <br />The agricultural and winter recreational industries suffered large economic <br /> <br /> <br />losses. A number of western slope municipalities exhausted their water <br /> <br />supplies even with severe water restrictions. Some electrical power <br /> <br />generation plants and other industries came within days of exhausting <br /> <br />water supplies vital to their continued productivity. Reservoir storage <br /> <br />was severely depleted throughout the state. With carryover water storage <br /> <br />extremely low the Colorado State Legislature and Colorado Water Conservation <br /> <br />Board recognized that an exceptionally plentiful snowpack would be needed <br />to revitalize ground water supplies, replenish depleted reservoirs, and <br /> <br />prevent economic disaster throughout the state. Thus measures for <br /> <br />ameliorating possible continued dry conditions, and funding those measures, <br /> <br /> <br />were initiated early in 1977. <br /> <br /> <br />House Bill No. 1722, 52nd General Assembly provided $300,000 to the <br /> <br /> <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board for a weather modification (winter <br /> <br /> <br />snowpack augmentation from November I, 1977 through April 30, 1978) and <br /> <br /> <br />$50,000 to evaluate the results of the program. The Colorado Water <br /> <br /> <br />Conservation Board applied for a $600,000 grant to provide drought assistance <br /> <br /> <br />under the Emergency Drought Act of 1977 on August 30, 1977. A grant of <br /> <br /> <br />$600,000 for a weather modification (cloud seeding) program to counter the <br /> <br /> <br />drought in Colorado was subsequently approved on September 1, 1977. The <br /> <br />$600,000 grant plus an additional $25,000 for supplemental weather informa- <br /> <br />tion are being adminsitered by the Bureau of Reclamation. $16,500 was also <br /> <br />12 <br />