Feds spend $2.4 million on cloud seeding for Colorado River

The federal government has invested $2.4 million in cloud seeding over the Colorado River Basin, a move that is intended to bolster the region’s water supply.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation has allocated the funds to support a project that involves the use of aircraft to dispense silver iodide, a compound that promotes the formation of ice crystals in clouds to produce rain or snow. The effort is intended to increase the amount of water flowing into the Colorado River, which serves as an important source of water for Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

The cloud-seeding project is part of a broader effort to manage water resources in the basin, which has been plagued by drought for several years. The bureau has identified a number of ways to improve water supply in the region, including the development of advanced forecasting models and the use of cutting-edge technologies such as cloud-seeding.

“This project is part of our ongoing commitment to find innovative solutions to help address the persistent water supply challenges facing this region,” said Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman in a press release. “By leveraging the latest science and technology, we can ensure a more reliable and resilient water supply for the Colorado River Basin.”

Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification that has been used in the United States since the 1940s. The technology has been used in a number of other countries, including China, India, and Russia.

The project is expected to begin next year and run through 2023. The bureau will collaborate with the National Center for Atmospheric Research to evaluate the effectiveness of the cloud-seeding effort. The results of the study will be used to determine whether the technique should be continued.