EISPIRATEN

"Los Angeles County is relaunching a controversial program, cloud seeding, that officials expect will increase precipitation and raise water levels at local reservoirs."
[...]
"The county first halted cloud seeding over the San Gabriels after a storm in February 1978 caused major flooding in Big Tujunga Canyon. The storm and the landslides that followed killed 11 people."
[...]
"Nevertheless, the county resumed cloud seeding in 1991. The program was halted in 2002, when officials worried that wildfires in parts of the San Gabriel watershed left the area vulnerable to landslides."

Questions for anyone who spent time in the San Gab's during the 90's. Did it seem like there was more rain or snow during the seeding years? The article mentions a large flood in 1978, any other floods or oddness?

I live in Tujunga near the mouth of Big T and have lived in and around this area the great majority of my life (except college and the army). I remember a cemetary getting cut into by water and bodies "showing up" in town. Can't remember if that was the big flood in '69 (a vague memory) or something more recent like '78. I was in High School then (1978) and not necessarily focused on precipitation amounts!

I guess LA County must have some hard numbers if they're willing to pay for something like this. Can't be cheap.

Of course there's only so much water in a cloud. If LA does cloud seeding and makes the clouds dump, then somebody downwind isn't going to get the amount of precip. they might have otherwise gotten. I can see it now: cloud water rights. Stake your claims now, guys, this is gonna be big; I can just feel it. You heard it here first.

Waassstte of money. I'll tell them what...if it doesnt work, cut their pay by 15%. If it does work, cut their pay by only 5%.

I'll give them a raise if they can even come close to forecast how much rain will hit an area...then if it falls short, we dock their pay by that percentage as well. If its over and they didnt seed that area, then they are fired.

The best idea Ive heard of is desalination plants, which sounds easier to digest publically than reclaimation plants...."A typical aircraft carrier in the U.S. military uses nuclear power to desalinize 400,000 gallons of water per day"