Tahoe-Truckee Cloud Seeding Project Preliminary Results Water Year 2018 April 4, 2018 1 DRI Cloud seeding generator: on (Sierra Crest
Tahoe Winter 2017-2018 Target area Mt Rose SWE (in) Echo Pk SWE (in) 8,800’ MSL 7,653’ MSL Control area March 16.5” March 12.8” CSS SWE (in) Truckee2 SWE (in) 6,894’ MSL 6,509’ MSL Control area Target area March 8.3” March 14.3”
Winter Summary WY2018 November – A few big storms but snow levels often above 8,000’ (14” SWE at Mt Rose, 8” rain at Truckee 0.3” SWE) December – pretty dry, no SWE increase at Echo or Mt Rose January – Few storms (5” SWE/20” snow Mt Rose), (2” SWE at 10” snow at Truckee) February – Dry (1” SWE at Truckee, 1.7” SWE at Mt Rose) half in last 2 days of month March – Several big storms at fairly cold temperatures (16” SWE at Mt Rose, 8” SWE at Truckee) April - ? Very warm AR storm Friday/Saturday (high snow level)
Cloud Seeding WY2018 Project Smaller-scale project was planned for WY 2018 (Jan- Feb 2018) using the unused cloud seeding solution remaining from WY2017. Primary Sponsor – Western Regional Water Commission ($100,000) Additional Sponsor – Mt Rose Ski Resort ($2,500)
WY 2018 Tahoe-Truckee network CSG 5
Tahoe-Truckee Project Preliminary Summary WY2018 - 22 cloud seeding events - 487 total generator hours - seeding efficiency (N/A) - Estimated additional water added to watershed (8,944 acre-feet (AF) )* - Costs $11.46 acre-ft** • *2.9 billion gallons (if all added to river enough for ~21,000 Truckee Meadows Households) • ** Seeding solution cost not included in WY2018 project costs 6
Tahoe-Truckee Project WY2018 October and November 2017 - All cloud seeding generators were visited. The cloud seeding equipment was tested and made fully operational, Barker Pass generators reinstalled per USFS permit. - All installed WRWC gauges were visited and serviced for the Water Year measurements. December 2017 – Began informally watching the weather for seedable storms, Mt Rose joined the program. January – February 2018 – Official 24/7 forecasting and equipment maintenance occurred. - Daily Forecast Discussions - Weekly equipment testing - Field maintenance when required - 24/7 cloud seeding operations when required March 2018 – Official program extended for one month April – June 2018 – End of season generator maintenance and equipment removal from field. Data analysis of weather data and seeding operations, equipment reliability, and calculations of cloud seeding SWE increases. 7
Tahoe-Truckee Project Preliminary Summary WY2018 - 22 cloud seeding events - 487 total generator hours - seeding efficiency (N/A) - Estimated additional water added to watershed (8,944 acre-feet (AF) )* - Costs $11.46 acre-ft** • *2.9 billion gallons (if all added to river enough for ~21,000 Truckee Meadows Households) • ** Seeding solution cost not included in WY2018 project costs (~$15.93 Acre-ft) 8
WRWC Gauge Network
WY2019 Nevada State Program Tuscarora Mtns. Santa Rosa Mtns. Ruby Humboldt Mtns Tahoe/Truckee Carson Walker Toiyabe Sierra Nevada Mt Charleston
State Funded Portion - Tahoe-Truckee Project WY2018 – Full Program using 3 generators - Purchase all consumables (silver iodide, etc.) - Preseason site visits to fill generators and to make equipment operational - Install Barker dual generators - Nov 1 – May 15 – 24/7l weather forecasting/cloud seeding operations - Full time generator maintenance and servicing - Maintenance of all 8 precipitation gauges - Project data analysis, SWE increase estimates, final report preparation - End of season site takedown - Pull Barker dual generators off site for summer storage *Potential for about 11,000 acre-ft SWE on average winter 11
WRWC Partner with the State Program? - Adopt 2 Tahoe generators - Site preparation - All consumables - Servicing trips - Communications - End of season take down. - $25K per generator - Potential to increase SWE by more than 7,000+ acre-ft at cost of $7 acre-ft with State Program in place 12
Thank You ! Any questions/comments? 13
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