High Country Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council
Local People Solving Local Problems
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The water resources of the Snake River Basin (both surface and ground) are being stressed by drought, population growth , and increasing demands by agriculture, cities, and recreational activities. Therefore, the High Country Resource Conservation and Development Council conducted a winter cloud seeding program to augment snow packs. The target areas were Upper Snake River Basin and those watersheds draining into Water Basin 31. The program ran from November 1, 2007 to April 1, 2008 and was contracted out to Clark County and Let it Snow Inc.
Cloud Seeding Donations for 08-09 project:
| A&B Irrigation District | East Cassia SWCD | Mud Lake SWCD |
| Bannock County | East Side SWCD | New Sweden Irrigation District |
| Bingham County | Egin Bench Canals, Inc. | North Bingham SCD |
| Bingham Ground Water District | Enterprise Irrigation District | North Fremont Canal Systems, Inc. |
| Birch Power Company | Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative | North Side Canal Company, LTD. |
| Bonneville County | Fremont County | Place Farms Ltd. |
| Central Bingham SWCD | Fremont County Snowmobile Club | Power County |
| City of Ammon | Fremont-Madison Irrigation District | Progressive Irrigation District |
| City of Arimo | Idaho Falls Power/City of Idaho Falls | Reno Ditch Company |
| City of Iona | Idaho Irrigation District | Rocky Mountain Power |
| City of Parker | Jefferson County | Snake River Valley Irrigation District |
| City of Rexburg | Jefferson-Clark Ground Water District | Southwest Irrigation District |
| City of St. Anthony | Madison County | Teton County |
| City of Sugar City | Madison County Farm Bureau | Teton Irrigation & Manufacture Co. |
| Clark County | Madison SWCD | Water District 1 |
| Clark County Water District #32-C | Minidoka SWCD | West Side SWCD |
| Clark SCD |
Results of Snake River Basin Cloud Seeding 08-09:
IDWR perspective on weather modification said there is conceptually
defensible and documented success. It is difficult to quantify the
effectiveness because so many variables exist. Success of the program
relies on the quality of the program as well as it's operators. Current SNOTEL
data shows reported areas have experienced more than 100 percent
precipitation during this winter season.
The North American Weather Consultants, Inc. prepared results from regression
equations developed for the operational uppers snake river cloud seeding
program. The results showed the northern region ranged from 3-4%
additional snow pack. While the eastern region ranged from 6- 9% of additional
water content.
For a PDF copy of the published results click the link above.
Future Goals for the Snake River Basin Cloud Seeding:
- $150,000 to be raised for next year's cloud seeding project
- Continue partnership with Idaho Power
- Hire intern to help with fundraising
- more SNOTEL research sites
What is cloud seeding?
Cloud seeding is a proven tool to increase precipitation
and numerous evaluations have indicated that cloud seeding , when properly applied, can produce precipitation increases up to 10% or greater. Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification. It can be used to disperse fog, suppress hail, or control winds, but is most often used to increase precipitation. It introduces other particles into a cloud to serve as cloud condensation nuclei and aid in the formation of precipitation.
Click the following link to North American Weather Consultants, Inc. for more information about cloud seeding as well as other test plot results.
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