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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
 
Program Assessment

Program

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Bureau of Reclamation Water Management - Operation and Maintenance

This program ensures the operation and maintenance of Reclamation facilities, delivers water to irrigators and municipal users, and provides storage to help mitigate flooding. The program also addresses issues such as water conservation, runoff from irrigated fields, and project financial management

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Adequate

This rating describes a program that needs to set more ambitious goals, achieve better results, improve accountability or strengthen its management practices.
  • The program works with project sponsors to operate and maintain its facilities, and to meet its water delivery commitments. Performance measures are adequate and show the program delivers water, but show a less clear picture about the future of aging facilities, which will require increased maintenance and rehabilitation. The program could improve benchmarking of its water management activities.
  • The program's main challenge is the aging of its facilities, yet Reclamation lacks a comprehensive strategy to address this issue. Some project sponsors lack the resources to meet their commitments for long-term maintenance and rehabilitation, cannot accept greater responsibility for maintenance and rehabilitation, or are unwilling to take title to projects.
  • It is unclear whether further steps should be taken to address Government Accountability Office-identified ambiguities in the Reclamation Reform Act.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Developing a comprehensive, long-term strategy to operate, maintain, and rehabilitate Reclamation facilities.
  • Developing a plan to build the capacity of customers to take title to Reclamation facilities or accept transferred works (which are owned by Reclamation but operated by the project sponsor).
  • Considering potential steps to clarify any ambiguities in the Reclamation Reform Act.

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