Tahoe-Truckee Cloud Seeding Project
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DRI Cloud seeding generator: on (Sierra Crest
Water Year 2018
Tahoe Winter Snowfall - 2015-2018 Lake Tahoe Basin Snow Water Equivalent by Water Year
WY2018 74% median
WY2017
WY2016
WY2015
median
Tahoe Winter 2017-2018
Median WY2018(74%) - Nov (11%), (9%) - Dec (25%), (2%) - Jan (31%), (11%) - Feb (24%), (4%) - Mar (9%), (48%)*
* “Miracle March”
Snow Water Equivalent by Month
Tahoe Winter 2017-2018 Temperature Anomalies
Dec 2017 Jan 2018 Feb 2018 Mar 2018
OF
+5oF +8.5oF +2oF +1oF
Lake Tahoe Depth (Tahoe City Gauge)
Natural Rim 6,223’ MSL
Top of dam 6,229’ MSL
Lake Tahoe surface - 122,200 acres
Cloud seeding to increase mountain snowfall over the Tahoe-Truckee Basin
Sierra Crest Carson Range Generator
Clouds colder than -5oC (23F) containing subfreezing water drops
Clouds seeding aerosol - Silver Iodide (AgI)
• Naturally occurring
• Lattice structure similar to ice, creates ice crystals at warmer temperatures
• Safe for the environment
AgI
DRI Remote Controlled Cloud Seeding Generator
Clouds seeding generator - Silver Iodide (AgI)
Fall installation
Tahoe-Truckee Cloud Seeding WY2018 Project Summary
Smaller-scale project for WY 2018 using the unused cloud seeding solution remaining from WY2017. (Cloud seeding project was suspended in early January 2017 due to deep snowpack and forecasts of heavy precipitation). Primary Sponsor – Western Regional Water Commission ($100,000) Additional Sponsor – Mt Rose Ski Resort ($2,500)
WY 2018 Tahoe-Truckee network
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CSG
Tahoe-Truckee Project WY2018
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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 at no additional cost to sponsor 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.
Tahoe-Truckee Project Summary WY2018
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- 23 cloud seeding events
- 524 total generator hours
Tahoe-Truckee Project Summary WY2018 Cost/Benefit
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- Calculated additional SWE
(9,628 acre-feet (AF))*
- Cost/benefit $10.65 acre-ft**
• *3.3 billion gallons (if all added to river, enough for ~24,000 Truckee Meadows Households) • ** Seeding solution cost not included in WY2018 project costs
Validation WY2018
• Cloud Seeding operational efficiency (89%) – Winds favorable to
deliver cloud seeding plume into target area
– Temperatures in cloud favorable for successful cloud seeding
– Supercooled (T
WY 2018 Validation Snow
C T C
C
T
Validation Snow Tahoe Winter 2017-2018
Mt Rose SWE (in) 8,800’ MSL
Echo Pk SWE (in) 7,653’ MSL
CSS SWE (in) 6,894’ MSL Truckee2 SWE (in)
6,509’ MSL
March 16.5” March 12.8”
March 14.3” March 8.3”
Target area
Target area Control area
Control area
WRWC Gauge Network
Sierra Nevada
Ruby Mtns
Toiyabe
Tahoe/Truckee
Carson
Walker
Mt Charleston
Tuscarora Mtns.
Humboldt
Santa Rosa Mtns.
WY2019 Nevada State Program
State Funded Portion - Tahoe-Truckee Project WY2018 – Full Program using 3 generators
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- Purchase consumables 3 gen. (silver iodide, etc.)
- Preseason site visits to fill generators and to make equipment operational
- Install Barker dual generators - Nov 1 – May 15 – 24/7 weather
forecasting/cloud seeding operations - Full time generator maintenance and servicing - 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
WRWC Partner with the State Program?
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- Adopt 2 Tahoe generators - Site preparation - All consumables - Parts (repairs) - Servicing trips - Data
collection/management - 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 to WRWC with State Program in place
WY 2018 Tahoe-Truckee network
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CSG
Budget to operate the Echo and Morattini Flats Generators
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Cost Category
Echo site
Morattini Flats site
Cloud Seeding Solution (AgI)
$10.500
$10,500
Truck/Snowmobile/Fuel
$1,050
$1,050
Generator Parts (repair)
$1,000
$1,000
Propane/Nitrogen
$1,000
$1,000
Communications /modems
$2,500
$1,500
Site Permits
$500
$500
Total Labor (field/shop)
$8,540
$9,450
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Total Costs
$25,000
$25,000
Thank You !
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Any questions/comments?
Tahoe-Truckee Cloud Seeding ProjectTahoe Winter Snowfall - 2015-2018 Tahoe Winter 2017-2018 Tahoe Winter 2017-2018 Temperature AnomaliesLake Tahoe Depth (Tahoe City Gauge)Cloud seeding to increase mountain snowfall over the Tahoe-Truckee BasinClouds seeding aerosol - Silver Iodide (AgI) Tahoe-Truckee Cloud Seeding WY2018 Project SummaryWY 2018 Tahoe-Truckee networkTahoe-Truckee Project WY2018 Tahoe-Truckee Project Summary WY2018 Tahoe-Truckee Project Summary WY2018�Cost/Benefit Validation WY2018WY 2018 Validation SnowValidation Snow Tahoe Winter 2017-2018 WRWC Gauge NetworkWY2019 Nevada State Program�State Funded Portion - Tahoe-Truckee Project WY2018 – Full Program using 3 generators WRWC Partner with the State Program? WY 2018 Tahoe-Truckee networkBudget to operate the Echo and Morattini Flats Generators Thank You !
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