Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
As all of New Mexico is experiencing some level of drought, cloud seeding may help bring water to Quay County and other areas of the eastern part of the state.
The Interstate Stream Commission approved a weather modification application during its monthly meeting on April 21. The cloud seeding is expected to occur during the summer and will affect Chaves, Curry, De Baca, Lea, Quay and Roosevelt counties. All those counties are experiencing extreme or exceptional drought conditions, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map.
Texas-based SOAR, or Seeding Operations and Atmospheric Research, applied in December to conduct the cloud seeding. SOAR will work with the Roosevelt Soil and Water Conservation District with the goal of increasing precipitation.
This will involve monitoring weather conditions and flying airplanes to inject silver iodide into certain clouds. The silver iodide will lead to ice crystal formations, which could result in rainfall. SOAR owns several airplanes used for cloud seeding operations.
As the western United States is facing ongoing drought and aridification, cloud seeding is receiving increased attention and various states have turned to it in an effort to increase water availability. At least eight western states have used cloud seeding.
However, skepticism exists about its effectiveness and concerns about potential unintended consequences. About 45% of American adults don’t think cloud seeding will make a difference, according to a Pew Research survey last year, and more than 70% of those surveyed expressed concerns about using cloud seeding without understanding the full effects on ecosystems.
During the meeting, Hannah Riseley-White, the deputy director of the Interstate Stream Commission, said the agency does not have an opinion on cloud seeding.
The application submitted in December states evaluation of the effort is “crucial to achieving and increasing the effectiveness of the research” but also states “a thorough statistical and scientific evaluation will not be possible,” citing a lack of resources.
Rainfall data will, however, be collected from available sources, and all reports and analyses will be provided to the Roosevelt Soil and Water Conservation District.