Bureau of Reclamation

Reclamation provides 1 of 5 Western farmers with irrigation water

Reclamation is the second largest hydropower producer in the U.S.

Reclamation delivers 10 trillion gallons of water annually

Reclamation and its partners manage 289 recreation sites

Featured Resources

Stories & Media

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  Secretary Jewell Celebrates Milestones for Smart Western Water Management

  U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Deputy Secretary of the Interior Michael L. Connor celebrated milestones for two collaborative efforts the Interior Department has spearheaded to help secure sustainable water supplies for future generations. They made the announcements at the Colorado River Water Users Association meeting in Las Vegas. First, Secretary Jewell finalized the framework to adaptively manage the Glen Canyon Dam over the next 20 years, with the goal of creating certainty and predictability for water and power users while protecting environmental and cultural resources in Grand Canyon National Park and the Colorado River ecosystem. Second, the Interior Department released a report showing that projects initiated from 2010-2016 under the Department of the Interior's WaterSMART program are expected to result in savings of 1.14 million acre-feet of water per year upon completion, the annual household usage of 4.6 million people. Read More →

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  Reclamation Announces Water Management Plan Standard Criteria Revision for 2017

  The Bureau of Reclamation has updated the Standard Criteria for evaluating its Water Management Plans in response to the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 and in accordance with the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982. The purpose of the Standard Criteria are to promote the highest efficiency of water delivery. Section 210 of the Reclamation Reform Act requires contractors to prepare and submit Water Management Plans every five years with definite goals, delivery timetables and appropriate water conservation measures. Section 3405(e) of the CVPIA requires the Standard Criteria be reviewed every three years and revised if necessary. With no additional requirements set for 2017, the updated criteria will become effective Feb.1 following public review. Read More →

• Bureau of Reclamation Launches Prize Challenge to Seek Solutions for Improving Weather Forecast Predictions

  

  The Bureau of Reclamation is launching a new prize challenge, Sub-Seasonal Climate Forecast Rodeo, to ask solvers to improve existing sub-seasonal forecasts and to develop systems that perform demonstratively better than the existing baseline forecast for predicting temperature and precipitation over a 15 to 42-day time frame. If there are winners of this prize challenge, they will share up to $800,000 in prize money. Solvers of this prize challenge will have three months to develop their system, at which point they are asked to provide forecasts every two weeks over a 13-month period, with the first month being a "pre-season" to become familiar with the submission and evaluation processes. Read More →

• Bureau of Reclamation Releases Water Markets Report

  

  The Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation have released a report reviewing the role of Reclamation in water markets. For decades, water users in the West have used many different approaches to address water needs particular to their location. In some instances, these approaches have created market conditions in which buyers and sellers voluntarily trade water rights. Such water market transactions can often involve Reclamation facilities. This new report, “Water marketing activities within the Bureau of Reclamation,” highlights the ways Reclamation has partnered with water users to enable such transactions. The report reviews a series of case studies which illustrate a tremendous amount of locally-led innovation. Read More →

• Bureau of Reclamation Launches Two Prize Challenges Seeking Solutions to Expand Usable Water Supplies

  

  The Bureau of Reclamation is launching two new prize challenges, Arsenic Sensor Challenge and More Water, Less Concentrate. This is the first stage for each challenge. Subsequent stages with larger prize purses are planned for testing and demonstrating the most promising technologies. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contributed significant efforts to the design of this prize competition, and Xylem Inc., a global water technology company, became a co-sponsor through its contribution to the prize purse. The Indian Health Service, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Agricultural Research Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey collaborated on various aspects of the development of this challenge. Read More →