Basin Studies addresses basin-wide efforts to evaluate and address the impacts of climate change. Funding is available for comprehensive water studies that define options for meeting future water demands in river basins in the western United States where imbalances in water supply and demand exist or are projected. Each study includes four key segments:

• State-of-the-art projections of future supply and demand by river basin.
• An analysis of how the basin’s existing water and power operations and infrastructure will perform in the face of changing water realities.
• Development of options to improve operations and infrastructure to supply adequate water in the future.
• Recommendations on how to optimize operations and infrastructure in a basin to supply adequate water in the future.

St. Mary River and Milk River Basins Study Complete - (June 28, 2012) Reclamation Commissioner Michael L. Connor released the St. Mary River and Milk River Basins Study Summary Report outlining the findings of a two-year comprehensive study of the river basins. The report recommends using and enhancing the new river system model developed through this study to further analyze alternatives to address supply and demand issues in the basins, including Tribal and international issues. More... | Summary Report | Technical Report

Interior’s WaterSMART Program Funds Studies of Water Supplies and River Environments in Five Western Water Basins - (March 21, 2012) Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation is providing $2.4 million in funding for comprehensive water studies in California, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oklahoma. More...

Yakima River Basin Study, First One Completed Under Reclamation's WaterSMART Program - The Bureau of Reclamation and Washington State Department of Ecology reached a significant year-end milestone with the completion of the Yakima River Basin Study in 2011. It was one of three such studies initiated in 2009, and subsequently carried out under Reclamation's WaterSMART Basin Study Program. More... | Report