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The Southern Nevada Water Authority accepted a $2.4 million grant from the United States Bureau of Reclamation to fund cloud seeding in neighboring Western states with rivers that feed the drought-stricken region. The funding comes as Colorado River reservoirs reach historic lows, and as the seven basin states continue to negotiate a long-overdue plan for how to conserve 3 to 4 million acre-feet of water, or 30 percent of current usage.
Cloud seeding is a process in which iodide crystals are shot into clouds using planes or ground-based cannons, encouraging gaseous water molecules to condense and fall as precipitation. Several Western states have been practicing cloud seeding for decades, including Utah and Colorado, who each spend about $1.5 million on cloud seeding every year. Scientists seem to agree that cloud seeding works—regular year-round seeding can add 5 to 15 percent more precipitation from storm clouds.
The funding will go toward using planes to seed clouds in parts of the Upper Colorado River Basin, as well as upgrading manual generators to ones that can be remotely operated. Securing enough generators could be an issue, though, as makers of generators can be hard to find. Additionally, cloud seeding alone will not yield enough precipitation to ensure that Lake Mead and Lake Powell, two key Colorado River reservoirs, can meet water demands in the West.
“I think a lot of the allure of this type of program is it’s easier to talk about how do we get more than to talk about who has to use less,” said Kathryn Sorensen of the Kyl Center for Water Policy. Identifying which states need to make the most significant cuts in water use is the basis for the recent failure among basin states to agree on a mitigation plan—a standstill that continues to draw negotiations from state leaders.
Supreme Court considers Navajo Nation rights to Colorado River water
Today, the Navajo Nation will face off with the federal government and a group of states over a “broken promise” over water resources. 30 percent of Navajo Nation citizens have no running water, which the Tribe claims is a violation of an 1868 treaty wherein federal officials said they would provide the Navajo with resources needed for agriculture—a pledge that lawyers for the Tribe say implicitly included a right to sufficient water. Faced with complications of drought, Western states dispute that claim, saying that more water for the Navajo Nation would cut into already scarce supplies for cities, agriculture, and business growth.
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Every drop really matters.”
