Robert W. (Bob) Johnson
Commissioner
Robert W. (Bob) Johnson was confirmed as the 17th Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation on September 30, 2006. Reclamation, a U.S. Department of the Interior agency, is the Nation's largest wholesale water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the 17 Western states in which it operates.
As Commissioner, Johnson will continue Reclamation's mission of delivering water and power from Reclamation projects to Reclamation customers, and will ensure Reclamation's projects are operated and maintained to ensure their safety and reliability, consistent with environmental and other requirements. He is committed to working collaboratively with the Western states, Indian Tribes, water and power users and others to find and implement innovative and effective solutions to today's Western water needs to avoid future water crises. He also is committed to completing and implementing Reclamation's "Managing for Excellence" program, an exhaustive internal review of the agency's operations and interactions with its stakeholders that is designed to make Reclamation a more efficient, performance-driven organization.
Johnson joined the Bureau of Reclamation in 1975, and has spent his federal career with the agency. From 1995 to September 2006, he was the Regional Director of Reclamation's Lower Colorado Region, an area that encompasses southern Nevada, southern California, most of Arizona, and small portions of Utah and New Mexico. Among his duties as Regional Director, Johnson was the "Water Master" of the lower Colorado River on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior. Through consultation and collaboration with states, water and power users, Indian Tribes and others, Johnson initiated and implemented significant improvements in the operation and management of the lower Colorado River and other Reclamation projects in the region.
Johnson began his Reclamation career at Reclamation's Mid-Pacific Regional Office, in Sacramento, Calif. From Sacramento, he moved to Reclamation's Boulder City, Nev., office, then on to Washington, D.C., where he served in a management position in the Commissioner's Office. He returned to Boulder City from Washington, first as the Chief of the Region's Water, Land and Power Operations Division and then as the Deputy Regional Director before being named Regional Director.
Johnson has received numerous awards during his career, including the Department of the Interior's Meritorious Service Award and the President's Meritorious Executive Award, which recognized his long term contributions to the management of water supplies for the multi-state and international region served by the lower Colorado River.
A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Johnson has bachelor's and Master's degrees in agriculture and resource economics. Born in Lovelock, Nevada, he was raised on a farm just outside that small community - a farm that received its irrigation water from a Reclamation project. Johnson is married and has two grown children.
Last Reviewed: 7/11/05