Loamio vs. CVSS Storm

Short answer

Which one is right for your district?

Storm by CVSS is the incumbent. First developed in 1996 as a joint project of three Central California water districts, Storm is now in use at 53 districts in eight states. It runs on Windows with a Microsoft SQL Server database and Crystal Reports for reporting. Pick Storm if you need the configuration depth and report customization of an enterprise on-prem product and you have IT staff to support the stack. Pick Loamio if you want a modern cloud product with public pricing, an offline-first mobile app for ditchriders, integrated Stripe payments, and a faster path to go-live.

Head-to-head

Loamio vs. CVSS Storm, capability by capability

CVSS Storm claims are taken from the sources listed at the top of this page (checked July 2026). The Loamio column reflects Loamio's current offering across its plans (see pricing).

Honest take

Where Storm is the better pick

• You need maximum configuration depth and custom reports. Storm's feature page describes screen-by-screen security, user-defined codes and lookups, configurable required fields per district, and Crystal Reports. If your district has unique reporting requirements and someone on staff who writes Crystal Reports, Storm will bend further than Loamio will.
• You're already a Storm customer with a working install. A 30-year-old product with 53 deployments doesn't get replaced casually. If Storm works for you and your staff knows it, the migration cost is real.
• You need RRA forms support. CVSS's Storm21 is purpose-built for Reclamation Reform Act forms management, with a free edition available. Loamio does not produce RRA forms.

Honest take

Where Loamio is the better pick

• You want to know the price before the call. Loamio publishes flat tiers — $99/mo for small mutual companies, $299/mo for established districts — with no per-user or per-shareholder fees. Storm is sold in modules and does not publish prices.
• You don't want to run Windows servers and SQL Server. Storm is a Windows client connecting to MS SQL Server. Loamio is a cloud product on AWS with automated backups; nothing to install, patch, or back up locally.
• Your ditchriders use Android phones or you want both platforms. Storm Reader is iOS-only. Loamio's field app runs on iOS and Android, with the same offline-first sync.
• You want billing and patron payments without a second vendor. Loamio's Stripe integration handles assessment and water-order collection by ACH, card, or invoice — reconciled automatically against the ledger. Storm's billing is modular and the public materials do not describe an integrated payment processor.
• You want state agency data inside the app. Loamio reads state gauge data (e.g. CDSS) without leaving the screens you use for orders and runs.
• You want a shorter time to go-live. Loamio targets go-live before your next assessment or water-order cycle. A Storm rollout — base system plus chosen business and billing modules, plus Crystal Reports configuration — is a larger project.

Loamio pricing

Flat pricing by district size.

No per-user charges and no per-shareholder fees. Pick the tier that matches your operation.

Migration

Switching from Storm to Loamio

The practical questions:

1. Data extraction. Your records live in MS SQL Server. Loamio onboarding includes pulling shareholders, shares, orders, and balances and reconciling them in the new ledger before go-live.
2. Reports. Inventory the Crystal Reports your district relies on. Confirm Loamio's built-in reports and CSV exports cover the same questions, or that what's missing can be answered with exported data.
3. Forms. If you use Storm21 for RRA forms, plan to keep it. Loamio does not replace Storm21.
4. Geography. Storm's installed base is heavily California-Arizona-Pacific Northwest. Loamio's product was built around prior-appropriation and share-based operations common across the Colorado River basin and the Mountain West.

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