U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, section of the U.S. Department of the Interior charged with the construction and management of canals, dams, and hydroelectric power plants. Over its history the bureau has transformed more than 10 million acres (about 4 million hectares) of arid land in the American West into economically productive farmland and pasture. In addition, it has effected the use and management of water resources to control hoarding and infringement on water rights. The bureau’s area of operation is divided into four regions spanning 17 western states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

The bureau was established in 1902 by Interior Secretary Ethan Allen Hitchcock in the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt to provide irrigation water in order to “reclaim” unusably arid land for human benefit. It was initially called the U.S. Reclamation Service but was renamed the Bureau of Reclamation in 1923. It is best known for dam and canal projects, including the Hoover and Grand Coulee dams, and is also known for its construction and maintenance of hydroelectric power plants. Its emphasis shifted from construction of those facilities to maintenance of them and to environmental water concerns in 1989 . The bureau must balance national interests with state and tribal water rights and environmental concerns. As the population in the western states grew, so did concerns about water and power and their appropriate use.

Although the bureau is a federally funded agency, its projects have been designed to be financed partly by those who benefit from them. Repayment to the bureau prior to the 1960s often fell short, due to terms favourable to consumers but unfavourable to the agency. Since the 1960s, new contracts have been written that are less one-sided. It maintains an international presence through its scientific and economic studies concerning water, as well as through its advances in concrete technology.

The bureau is not without its critics, and significant criticisms have come from environmentalists who are concerned about the reliance on water levels to which the western states have become accustomed. For example, the bureau violated the federal Endangered Species Act in 2005 by diverting water from California’s San Joaquin River to irrigation projects. The bureau has also been accused of supporting projects (such as the prospect of raising the Shasta Dam, also in California) that favour large businesses over local residents while contributing to overall unsustainable water management.