Lake Oroville Runoff Enhancement Project
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LAKE OROVILLE RUNOFF ENHANCEMENT PROJECT FINAL REPORT Submitted to California Department of Water Resources Division of Operations and Maintenance Under Cooperative Agreement Contract No. B-57788 September 1995 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Technical Service Center River Systems and Meteorology Group Form Approved REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMB NO.0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instrucitons, searching exisitng data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports. 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suit 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Report (0704-0188), Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave Blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED September 1995 Final 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Lake Oroville Runoff Enhancement Project PR 6. AUTHOR@) David W. Reynolds and Curtis L. Hartzell 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Bureau of Reclamation REPORT NUMBER Technical Service Center R-95-12 Denver CO 80225 9. SPONSORlNGlMONlTORlNGAGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES1 10. SPONSORlNGlMONlTORlNG Bureau of Reclamation AGENCY REPORT NUMBER Denver Federal Center DIBR PO Box 25007 Denver CO 80225-0007 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Microfiche and hard copy available at the Technical Service Center, Denver, Colorado 12a. DISTRIBUTIONIAVAILABlLlTYSTATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Available from the National Technical Information Service, Operations Division, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum200 words) Bureau of Reclamation cooperated with California Department of Water Resources to design and implement a snowpack augmentation program to increase runoff to Oroville Reservoir. The program involves collection of data to document physical processes leading to increased precipitation. This report summarizes main results from 3 yr of in-situ physical studies and statistical analysis of precipitation data collected during 87 randomized seeding cases. Liquid propane released from high elevation sites has proven to be a viable, reliable method of seeding wintertime clouds in the Sierra Nevada. Targeting of seeded crystals produced from the propane dispenser has proven difficult. Based on these findings, project suspension is appropriate after 3 yr and project redesign is necessary. Propane seeding can increase snowfall when excess supercooled water is available. The questions yet to be answered are: what propane release rate is required to produce significant snowfall, is such a release rate economical, and can dispenser sites be located that will allow upward transport of ice crystals and adequate time for particle growth and fallout in the target area? The potential importance of being able to seed slightly supercooled clouds, which are found in abundance during the winter in northern California, is too great to ignore these questions. 14. SUBJECT TERMS- -atmospheric research/ meteorology/ weather modification1 cloud 15. NUMBER OF PAGES seeding1 precipitation augmentation1 meteorological instruments1 Sierra Nevada1 1 133 Middle Fork Feather River Watershed, Lake 0~oville/Plumas County, CAI Wasatch Plateau, UT/ 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT UL UL UL UL NSN 7540-01 -280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribedby ANSI Std. 23918 298-102 LAKE OROVILLE RUNOFF ENHANCEMENT PROJECT Final Report David W. Reynolds* Curtis L. Hartzell River Systems and Meteorology Group Technical Service Center Denver, Colorado September 1995 *Present affiliation: DOCINOAAINWS-WFO, Monterey, CA UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ~t BUREAU OF RECLAMATION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Each individual who contributed to or directly participated in the LOREP cannot possibly be acknowledged. Mr. Don Finlayson and Mr. Maury Roos at the California DWR (Department of Water Resources) inspired the project's beginning in 1985. Mr. Larry Mullnix, former Deputy Director of DWR, was the driving force behind the program implementation. Mr. Richard Lallatin worked for almost three years before his retirement to draft the first environmental document and manage the initial procurement phase of the program. Mr. Gerry Boles and Mr. Dave Bogner ofthe Northern District saw the environmental process to its completion. Ms. Laura Shaw and Mr. Bill Anderson of the General Services Telecommunications office were instrumental in developing the communications network required to remotely operate the propane dispensers from Sacramento. DWR staff out of Oroville, including Mr. Bruce Gillette and Mr. Ron Vance, were critical to the development of the remote propane dispenser. The entire DWR staff of the Beckwourth field office provided dedicated field work support. This staff includes Conrad Lahr, Jim Hespen, Don Hand, and Ralph Howell. This team was truly instrumental in ensuring the success of the field operations. Thanks to the DWR staff in the Sacramento Project Operations Center for operating the propane dispensers during each of the seeding experiments. A great deal of appreciation is given to the DWR management team who provided guidance and support during the last four years ofthe project (1991 through 1994), during which the field research operations were conducted. This team includes Mr. John Silveira, Deputy Director of DWR; Mr. Keith Barrett, Chief, Division of Operations and Maintenance; and LOREP's program manager, Mr. Clay Magonigal. Several members of the Flood Forecasting Section ofDWR are to be thanked for their support. Mr. David Parker provided continuous support in assuring that all field data entered into the California Data Exchange Center were properly archived. Mr. Gary Hester was not only instrumental in helping to finalize an important section of the environmental document, but provided many hours of support and encouragement. Finally, Mr. Mark Heggli provided significant contributions in forecasting support, field support, and in data management. Mr. John Lease from the Bureau of Reclamation's Technical Service Center, Denver, Colorado, provided vital leadership and oversight for the project. Mr. Jack McPartland and Mr. Glenn Cascino provided critical support on the installation and calibration of equipment in the field. Dr. Arlin B. Super authored appendix E, which discusses observations from liquid propane seeding Utah's Wasatch Plateau. Special thanks is due to Mr. Tom Hovland for his technical editing of the draft report. u.s. Department of the Interior Mission Statement As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally-owned public lands and natural resources. This includes fostering sound use of our land and water resources; protecting our fish, wildlife, and biological diversity; preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places; and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources and works to ensure that their development is in the best interests of all our people by encouraging stewardship and citizen participation in their care. The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island territories under U.S. administration. The information contained in this report regarding commercial products or firms may not be used for advertising or promotional purposes and is not to be construed as an endorsement of any product or firm by the Bureau of Reclamation. 11 FOREWORD The California DWR (Department of Water Resources) has the responsibility to help protect, conserve, develop and manage California's water for present and future needs. Paramount in this responsibility is the examination of current water use and supply, and development of plans to meet the water needs of a continually increasing population that has grown from 24 million to 30 million between 1980 and 1990, and is expected to increase to 40 million by 2010. Snowpack augmentation through cloud seeding is a nonstructural and environmentally preferred alternative for increasing water supplies. Cloud seeding in California has been used for over 40 years. From 1987 through 1991, the DWR, in cooperation with Reclamation (Bureau of Reclamation), designed a snowpack augmentation research project and prepared the required EIS (Environmental Impact Statement). Three preliminary field programs were conducted during the winters of 1988-89, 1989-90, and 1990-91. During these three winters, remote liquid propane dispenser testing was conducted under actual field conditions. The winter of 1991-92 marked the commencement of the planned five-year experimental LOREP (Lake Oroville Runoff Enhancement Project). The LOREP, funded by the California SWP (State Water Project) contractors, was designed to increase runoff to Oroville Reservoir, the largest reservoir of the SWP, through seeding of wintertime orographic clouds. Seeding was performed along the Sierra crest above the Middle