What is the Bureau of Reclamation?

The Bureau of Reclamation is an agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior.  Our mission is to manage water and water related resources in the western United States in an economically and environmentally sound manner for the American people.  See the Bureau of Reclamation´s "About Us" page for more information.

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What is Project Dataweb?

The Project Dataweb provides the most current information on  Reclamation´s projects, facilities, and programs. It is a one-stop information center for a vast variety of people (from Reclamation's staff, partners, and stakeholders to Congress to students to international water resource agencies) on the web.

 The Project Dataweb provides basic information about Reclamation's actions, facilities, and operations and is a jumping off place for further, more specific information.  Having the information in a  central location also helps Reclamation manage, gather and disseminate our institutional knowledge.

Project Dataweb shows what Reclamation is doing and how our projects help solve water and related resources problems and benefit the American people.

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How can I find what I need in Project Dataweb?

If you know the name, you can search by  project, powerplant, or dam.  You can also look at the interactive maps, which will display Reclamation´s facilities by state, congressional district and watershed.  The search page can help if you don´t know the name, or you are looking for any projects that have a certain term in common (e.g., gravity dams). On the search page, type in a word that might be relevant to the pages you want.  Be as specific as possible. (These choices are at the bottom of each page in the Project Dataweb site.)

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Who visits Project Dataweb?

Project Dataweb is getting about 100,000 hits a month. The audience breakdown is:

• 50% Reclamation
• 15% other government
• 15% organizations (including education)
• 15% general public
• 5% international

Thus, Project Dataweb reaches many audiences, who access different information for a wide range of  reasons:

• Reclamation staff obtain background information on projects, monitor information such as daily reservoir storage, and get contact information (including area offices and irrigation and water districts).
• Congressional staff use the Project Dataweb as a quick source of background information for briefings and to show the benefits (e.g., M&I, recreation, flood control as well as irrigation) for their districts.
• Media can get information and contacts to ask more informed questions.
• Irrigation districts use the Project Dataweb to keep up with new actions and to get information about water availability
• Organizations can get information and links to show how Reclamation's facilities are part of the solution.
• Families use the Project Dataweb to plan vacations.

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Will Project Dataweb add any information?

Project Dataweb is the new and greatly expanded version of the 1979 Project Databook. We have Project Databook 1979 information for each project online. The project narratives provide basic facility information, with links to reservoir data, engineering data, and other more specific information. Facilities such as embankment, concrete, and diversion dams have their own pages with expanded information. Many of the projects have online histories from D-5300, the historians in the Technical Service Center. We have been updating each project description by consulting a variety of sources.

Project Dataweb will continue to evolve and grow.  Right now, we are concentrating on:

1) Updating and verifying the information on projects in the 1979 Project Databook.

2) Expanding the Project Databook to include information on all Reclamation programs, projects, and activities.  There are several other programs added, such as the High Plains States Groundwater Demonstration Program and the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program.

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How can I contact Project Dataweb?

We would like to hear from you.  Please let us know what you think about Project Dataweb:  What else would you like to see?  Are things easy to find? Contact us at DataWeb Team or contact Peter Soeth, 303-445-3615, D-1540, Bldg 67, Denver Federal Center, Denver Colorado 80225-0007.

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Construction cost trends are located on Reclamation´s Estimating, Specifications, and Value Program Group´s website at http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/estimate/cost_trend.html.

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