Bureau of Reclamation
Established in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation is best known for the dams, power plants, reservoirs, and canals it constructed in the 17 western states, including Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and Grand Coulee on the Columbia River. The Bureau of Reclamation is the largest wholesaler of water in the country. They bring water to more than 31 million people, and provide one out of five Western farmers (140,000) with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland that produce 60% of the nation's vegetables and 25% of its fruits and nuts.
The Bureau of Reclamation is the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the western United States, with 58 power plants annually provide more than 40 billion kilowatt hours generating nearly a billion dollars in power revenues and produce enough electricity to serve 3.5 million homes. The Bureau of Reclamation is also a water management agency with a Strategic Plan outlining numerous programs, initiatives and activities that will help the Western States, Native American Tribes and others meet new water needs and balance the multitude of competing uses of water in the West.
Sectors:
Related Organizations:
- Department of the Interior (DOI): Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC)
- Department of the Interior (DOI): Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC)
- Climate Change Collaboration in the Pacific Northwest (C3)
- U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)
Related Resources:
- Literature Synthesis on Climate Change Implications for Water and Environmental Resources
- Climate Change and Water Resources Management - A Federal Perspective: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1331
- Reclamation Climate Change and Water, Report to Congress, 2011
- Addressing Climate Change in Long-Term Water Resources Planning and Management: User Needs for Improving Tools and Information
- Assessing Reservoir Operations Risk Under Climate Change
- Streamflow Projections for the Western United States
- Downscaled CMIP3 and CMIP5 Climate and Hydrology Projections
- SECURE Water Act Section 9503-Reclamation Climate Change and Water 2011
- Bureau of Reclamation - Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study
- DOI Water SMART (Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow) Program
- Bureau of Reclamation Drought Response Program
