BLM Water
| Water Rights & Water Quality Laws | Western States’ Water Laws
This website reviews the water laws of eleven western states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming). Special attention is paid to the states’ water rights systems, the application processes, groundwater regulations, the general adjudication processes, and the states’ instream flow programs. Where information is available, comment is made on how the states handle federal reserved water rights and on other BLM specific information. Water Quality Law Summary The purpose of this website is to provide a comprehensive water quality law summary for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The website includes a detailed examination of federal statutes including the Clean Water Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, and the Oil Pollution Act. It also examines how each western state implements these federal acts and discusses additional state water quality laws applicable to BLM. |
| Waterpower & Reservoir Resources | Waterpower and Reservoir Resources (WRR) Documents
"Debated, Decided, and Declared, A Chronical of the Requirements for the Waterpower and Reservoir Resources (WRR) Program" - Contains a listing of Statutory Laws; Executive, Secretarial, and USGS Director's Orders; the Branch of Waterpower Classification Manual; the 1966 Memorandum of Understanding; and cases, opinions, and decisions. "Winning For the Public, A Strategy for Licensing and Relicensing Dams." This report is intended to be an educational tool for teaching the licensing of new dams or relicensing existing hydroelectric dams. This report's objective is to provide information and perspective so that the reader gains awareness, understanding, and acceptance of the requirements. A coming attraction: "The Big Picture, A Historical Perspective of Waterpower and Reservoir Resources," 1993. This manuscript documents the evolution of Waterpower and Reservoir Resources (WRR) policy. It is an attempt to build an understanding of current policy in order to tackle future responsibilities and functions. |
| USGS Water Resources National Research Program |
The National Research Program (NRP) conducts basic and problem oriented hydrologic research in support of the mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Relevant hydrologic information provided by the USGS is available today to assist the Nation in solving its water problems because of a conscious decision made in years past to invest in research. The NRP is designed to encourage pursuit of a diverse agenda of research topics aimed at providing new knowledge and insights into varied and complex hydrologic processes that are not well understood. The emphasis of these research activities changes through time, reflecting the emergence of promising new areas of inquiry and the demand for new tools and techniques with which to address water-resources issues. Knowledge gained and methodologies developed in this program apply to all of the hydrologic investigations of the USGS, to the water-oriented investigations and operations of other agencies, and to the general scientific community. Through the years, many of the Geological Survey's major research and resource assessment initiatives related to existing and emerging national water-resources problems had their origins in the NRP.
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