The Humboldt County Board of Commissioners on August 23rd approved a grant in the amount of $3,500 as
part of a cloud seeding project sponsored by the Humboldt River Basin Water Authority (HRBWA) in partnership with members of the HRBWA, local mining interests and other non-governmental agencies in northern Nevada. The William N. Pennington Foundation has offered to share 50 percent of Desert Research Institute’s cost to conduct cloud seeding in the Ruby Mountains and Santa Rosa Mountains during upcoming winter season.
The last time DRI performed cloud seeding operations in the Humboldt Basin was in 2019 and before then in 2012.
The total cost to operate all 5 units in the Ruby Mountains and 2 units in the Santa Rosa Mountains is $120,000. This includes generators, communications, weather stations, maintenance, 24/7 Nov-April weather services, and post season analysis and reporting. The Pennington Foundation has agreed to provide up to $60,000.
