Talking Under Water Episode 75: Cloud seeding & droughts

Sept. 1, 2023
In this episode of Talking Under Water, the hosts share an interview on how cloud seeding is being used more commonly in creating water supply.

In this episode, Talking Under Water Co-host Mandy Crispin interviews Frank McDonough, associate research scientist of atmospheric science at the Desert Research Institute about how cloud seeding, an 80-year-old technology that is gaining new traction as an avenue for water supply.  

Cloud seeding, which is the practice of stimulating the water droplets in clouds to produce rain, is seeing a growing interest in areas such as the Western U.S. where drought has become commonplace and water supplies are limited. McDonough touches on how practical this is, how much water it can produce and more.  

Show Notes:

Time Stamps:

  • Introduction | 0:00
  • Methods for cloud seeding | 1:16
  • Major questions facing the scientific community | 11:33
  • Impacts on water utilities | 21:26
  • Private company interests in cloud seeding | 23:29
  • How is water captured and stored from cloud seeding? 29:40
  • Housekeeping | 32:28

Awards:

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About the Podcast   

Talking Under Water is the premier podcast for the water industry, including municipal and industrial water and wastewater, residential water treatment, storm water management and erosion control. It is produced in coordination between Water & Wastes Digest (WWD), Water Quality Products (WQP) and Storm Water Solutions (SWS). The podcast covers topics under the One Water movement including the municipal and industrial water and wastewater, point of use, point of entry, residential, storm water and erosion control markets. Talking Under Water highlights news, trends, new technologies, industry discussions and on-site interviews with experts for WWD, WQP and SWS. New episodes of the podcast are released on the third Friday of every month. Logo Images: Anatoly Tiplyashin / Romolo Tavani / stock.adobe.com.   

Contact the Talking Under Water podcast editors by emailing [email protected] engaging with them on Twitter @TUWpodcast. Join the conversation by commenting or using the hashtag #talkingunderwaterpod on social media.  

About the Author

Mandy Crispin

Mandy Crispin is the editor-in-chief of WaterWorld, having joined Endeavor Business Media in 2023. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and is a graduate of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She has internal and external corporate communications experience in disparate industries including online retail, gaming, plastics and is now enjoying exploring the water utility space. Crispin can be reach at [email protected].

About the Author

Bob Crossen

Bob Crossen is the editorial director for the Endeavor Business Media Water Group, which publishes WaterWorld, Wastewater Digest and Stormwater Solutions. Crossen graduated from Illinois State University in Dec. 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in German and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. He worked for Campbell Publications, a weekly newspaper company in rural Illinois outside St. Louis for four years as a reporter and regional editor.