Boulder Canyon Operations Office
About Us

The Boulder Canyon Operations Office (BCOO) consists of four specialized groups that support Reclamation's Lower Colorado Region programs:

• River Operations Group - Manager: Doug Blatchford
  
  The River Operations Group manages the delivery of Colorado River water. It works with other Reclamation offices, agencies, and interested organizations to develop long- and short-range plans to guide and control water operations at dams, reservoirs and powerplants on the lower Colorado River, and develops seasonal and annual operating plans. It also assures Lake Mead is operated in compliance with flood control regulations and collects and disseminates real-time data on lower Colorado River operations.
  
  
• Water Conservation and Accounting Group - Manager: Ruth Thayer
  
  The Water Conservation staff helps develop and implement agricultural and urban water conservation programs, and responds to emergency drought requests. The group also monitors Colorado River water use by entitlement holders to ensure it is being used beneficially, as required.

  The Water Accounting staff provides official records of diversions, return flows, and consumptive use of Colorado River water, as required by the Supreme Court Decree in Arizona v California (1964). Two primary reports are published on an annual basis: Article 5 Decree Accounting reports have been published since 1964 and the Lower Colorado River Accounting System reports are available from 1995.
  
  

• Water Administration Group - Manager: Vacant
  
  The Water Administration Group manages the rights to use Colorado River water. This group develops and administers water delivery contracts and prepares economic studies and analyses to establish the ability of water users to repay the cost of Reclamation-constructed facilities. The Group also provides Geographic Information Systems support; works with Colorado River water users to ensure compliance with all applicable Reclamation laws, including the Reclamation Reform Act; develops and proposes policy relating to water entitlements; and assists with special projects related to Lower Colorado Region and BCOO programs.
  
  
• Power and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Group - Manager: Ron Smith
  
  The Power and O&M Group manages contracts related to the generation and delivery of power from Reclamation dams on the lower Colorado River. It develops and proposes policy relating to power entitlements and assists with special projects, investigations, and reviews for repayment of project costs; operation, maintenance and replacement of project works; and for other purposes.
  

  The group includes a Marine and Dive Operations team that administers marine and dive activities for the Lower Colorado Region; an O&M Review team that conducts O&M program, facility condition, and safety of dam reviews; a Rope Access team that administers rope access activities throughout the Lower Colorado Region, including training and equipment maintenance; and a team that coordinates review, approval and implementation of Standard Operating Procedures for BCOO.