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<br />will have to be made. Such planning would involve not only the organiza- <br />tion of the cloud-seeding program itself with respect to scheduling, loca- <br />tions, extent, etc., but also consideration of storage facilHies! multiple- <br />purpose use, priorities~ and many other factors. <br /> <br />It cannot be assumed that dependable increases in water supply can be <br />obtained by artificial means. Unless sufficient moisture-laden air under <br />the right atmospheric conditions is available in a region, artificial seeding <br />will not be effective. In periods and regions of drought, usually character- <br />ized by very little cloudiness, major preciphation increases would be <br />unlikely. Unfortunately, the potentialities and lirnitations of these weather <br />modification techniques are not yet sufficiently clear to permit long-range <br />planning with a satisfactory degree of confidence. <br />If the prevailing scientific views are substantiated in practice, the <br />potentialities of weather modification are significant to the future water <br />supply of the western states. \Vhile the areas favorable to present cloud- <br />seeding technique are sharply localized, there are many localities where <br />the potential benefits appear large. As yet, however, only fragmentary <br />studies of the economic benefits of weather control have been made even <br />for the \Vest. Here is an important opportunity for applied economic <br />research. There is need, too, for research along many other lines, for the <br />scope of weather-caused economic difficulties is vast. For the \Vest it is <br />believed that the cloud-seeding technique already is so important that it <br />must be considered in planning for comprehensive river basin development. <br />For the country as a whole, the newness of this development indicates <br />the probability of rapid technical change. There will be a need for water <br />resource planning at aU times to review current signifIcant work in weather <br />modification. <br /> <br />I <br />~e <br />26 <br />