Menu
Home Explore People Places Arts History Plants & Animals Science Life & Culture Technology
On this page
United States Bureau of Reclamation
Government agency

The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and operation of the diversion, delivery, and storage projects that it has built throughout the western United States for irrigation, water supply, and attendant hydroelectric power generation. It is currently the U.S.'s largest wholesaler of water, bringing water to more than 31 million people, and providing one in five Western farmers with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland, which produce 60% of the nation's vegetables and 25% of its fruits and nuts. The Bureau is also the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the western U.S.

On June 17, 1902, in accordance with the Reclamation Act, Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock established the U.S. Reclamation Service within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The new Reclamation Service studied potential water development projects in each western state with federal lands. Revenue from sale of federal lands was the initial source of the program's funding. Because Texas had no federal lands, it did not become a Reclamation state until 1906, when Congress passed a law including it in the provisions of the Reclamation Act.

Related Image Collections Add Image
Profiles
1 Image
We don't have any YouTube videos related to United States Bureau of Reclamation yet.
We don't have any PDF documents related to United States Bureau of Reclamation yet.
We don't have any Books related to United States Bureau of Reclamation yet.
We don't have any archived web articles related to United States Bureau of Reclamation yet.

History

From 1902 to 1907, Reclamation began about 30 projects in Western states.2 Then, in 1907, the Secretary of the Interior separated the Reclamation Service from the USGS and created an independent bureau within the Department of the Interior. Frederick Haynes Newell was appointed the first director of the new bureau. Beginning with the third person to take over the direction of Reclamation in 1923, David W. Davis, the title was changed from Director to Commissioner.3

In the early years, many projects encountered problems: lands or soils included in projects were unsuitable for irrigation; land speculation sometimes resulted in poor settlement patterns; proposed repayment schedules could not be met by irrigators who had high land-preparation and facilities-construction costs; settlers were inexperienced in irrigation farming; waterlogging of irrigable lands required expensive drainage projects; and projects were built in areas which could only grow low-value crops. In 1923 the agency was renamed the "Bureau of Reclamation".4 In 1924, however, in the face of increasing settler unrest and financial woes, the "Fact Finder's Report" spotlighted major problematic issues; the Fact Finders Act in late 1924 sought to resolve some of these problems.

In 1928 Congress authorized the Boulder Canyon (Hoover Dam) Project, and large appropriations began, for the first time, to flow to Reclamation from the general funds of the United States. The authorization came only after a hard-fought debate about the pros and cons of public power versus private power.5

The heyday of Reclamation construction of water facilities occurred during the Depression and the 35 years after World War II. From 1941 to 1947, Civilian Public Service labor was used to carry on projects otherwise interrupted by the war effort. The last major authorization for construction projects occurred in the late 1960s, while a parallel evolution and development of the American environmental movement began to result in strong opposition to water development projects. Even the 1976 failure of Teton Dam as it filled for the first time did not diminish Reclamation's strong international reputation in water development circles.6 However, this first and only failure of a major Reclamation Bureau dam led to subsequent strengthening of its dam-safety program to avoid similar problems. Even so, the failure of Teton Dam, the environmental movement, and the announcement of President Carter's "hit list" on water projects profoundly affected the direction of Reclamation's programs and activities.7

Reclamation operates about 180 projects in the 17 western states. The total Reclamation investment for completed project facilities in September 1992 was about $11 billion. Reclamation projects provide agricultural, household, and industrial water to about one‑third of the population of the American West. About 5% of the land area of the West is irrigated, and Reclamation provides water to about one-fifth of that area, some 9,120,000 acres (37,000 km2) in 1992. Reclamation is a major American generator of electricity. As of 2007, Reclamation had 58 power plants on‑line and generated 125,000 GJ of electricity.

From 1988 to 1994, Reclamation underwent major reorganization as construction on projects authorized in the 1960s and earlier drew to an end. Reclamation wrote that "The arid West essentially has been reclaimed. The major rivers have been harnessed and facilities are in place or are being completed to meet the most pressing current water demands and those of the immediate future". Emphasis in Reclamation programs shifted from construction to operation and maintenance of existing facilities. Reclamation's redefined official mission is to "manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public". In redirecting its programs and responsibilities, Reclamation substantially reduced its staff levels and budgets but remains a significant federal agency in the West.

On October 1, 2017, the Hoover Dam Police Department was closed and the National Park Service took over law enforcement duties for the Hoover Dam. The Hoover Dam Police Department existed for more than 80 years.8

Leadership

Reclamation commissioners that have had a strong impact and molding of the Bureau have included Elwood Mead, Michael W. Straus, and Floyd Dominy, with the latter two being public-power boosters who ran the Bureau during its heyday. Mead guided the bureau during the development, planning, and construction of the Hoover Dam, the United States' first multiple-purpose dam.9

John W. Keys, the 16th Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation who served from July 2001 to April 2006, was killed two years after his retirement on May 30, 2008, when the airplane he was piloting crashed in Canyonlands National Park, Utah.10

On June 26, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Brenda Burman to serve as the Commissioner of the United States Bureau of Reclamation. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 16, 2017. Burman is the first woman to ever lead the Bureau of Reclamation. David Murillo was serving as the acting commissioner of the bureau. Burman resigned on January 20 after the inauguration of the Biden Administration.

The current Commissioner is Camille Calimlim Touton, the first Filipino American to head the agency. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 4, 2021.11

List of commissioners

The following is a list of commissioners since 1902:12

No.ImageCommissionerStartEndNotes
United States Reclamation Service
1Frederick Haynes NewellMarch 9, 1907December 9. 191413
2Arthur Powell DavisDecember 10, 1914June 18, 192314
United States Bureau of Reclamation
3David W. DavisJuly 1, 1923April 2, 192415
4Elwood Mead1924January 26, 1936Died in office16
–Mae Schnurr1936acting at various times17
5John C. PageJanuary 25, 1937August 2, 194318
6Harry W. BashoreAugust 3, 1943194519
7Michael W. Straus1945195320
actingGoodrich W. Lineweaver19531953
8Wilbur A. Dexheimer1953195921
9Floyd E. DominyMay 1, 1959196922
10Ellis L. Armstrong1969197323
11Gilbert G. Stamm1973197724
actingDonald D. Anderson19771977
12R. Keith Higginson1977198125
actingClifford I. Barrett1981198126
13Robert N. Broadbent1981198427
actingRobert A. OlsonDecember 1984August 198528
actingClifford I. Barrett1985198529
14C. Dale DuvallDecember 1985July 6, 198930
actingJoe D. Hall1989198931
15Dennis B. UnderwoodNovember 14, 1989199332
actingLawrence F. Hancock19931993
16Daniel P. BeardMay 1993September 1, 19953334
actingStephen V. MagnussenSeptember 2, 1995December 199535
17Eluid MartinezDecember 1995January 200136
actingJ. William McDonaldJanuary 2001July 15, 200137
18John W. KeysJuly 17, 2001April 15, 2006383940
actingWilliam RinneApril 16, 2006October 200641
20Robert (Bob) W. JohnsonOctober 2006January 20094243
actingJ. William McDonaldJanuary 2009May 200944
21Michael L. ConnorJune 2009February 28, 2014454647
actingLowell PimleyMarch 5, 2014October 1, 201448
actingEstevan LópezOctober 2, 2014December 17 2014495051
22December 18, 20142016
–David MurilloJanuary 20, 2017November 15, 201752
23Brenda BurmanNovember 16 2017January 20, 202153
24M. Camille Calimlim ToutonDecember 15, 2021January 20, 2025545556
actingDavid PalumboJanuary 20, 2025Present57

List of reclamation projects

See also

Further reading

  • Beard, Daniel P. Deadbeat Dams: Why We Should Abolish the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Tear Down Glen Canyon Dam, (Johnson Books, 2015).
  • Börk, Karrigan S. "'The Wilderness and the Dry Land Will Be Glad; and the Desert Will Rejoice and Blossom like a Rose': The Origins of the Bureau of Reclamation", Journal of the West 50 (Spring 2011), 60–74.
  • Lee, Lawrence B. "100 years of reclamation historiography." Pacific Historical Review 47.4 (1978): 507-564.online; Covers 1) irrigation , 1878-1902, 2) reclamation service, 3) agricultural settlement, 1902-28, 4) engineering 1887-1953, 5) Department of Agriculture, 1898-1938, 6) historians, 1898-1978, and 7) challenges to Bureau
  • Marc Reisner, Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water. Revised edition (Penguin, 1993). ISBN 0-14-017824-4.
  • Pisani, Donald J. Water and American Government: The Reclamation Bureau, National Water Policy, and the West, 1902-1935, (University of California Press, 2002).
  • Rowley, William D. The Bureau of Reclamation: Origins and Growth to 1945, vol. 1, (US Department of the Interior, 2006).
  • Sneddon, Christopher. Concrete Revolution: Large Dams, Cold War Geopolitics, and the US Bureau of Reclamation, (University of Chicago Press, 2015).
Wikimedia Commons has media related to United States Bureau of Reclamation.

References

  1. "Bureau of Reclamation – About Us". Archived from the original on 2016-02-24. Retrieved 2016-02-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20160224074309/http://www.usbr.gov/main/about/fact.html ↩

  2. Page, Arthur W. (December 1907). "The Real Conquest of the West: The Work of the United States REclamation Service". The World's Work: A History of Our Time. XV: 9691–9704. Retrieved 2009-07-10. /wiki/Arthur_W._Page ↩

  3. Bureau of Reclamation. "Reclamation History". Bureau of Reclamation. Retrieved 13 August 2020. https://www.usbr.gov/history/commiss.html ↩

  4. The Bureau of Reclamation: A Very Brief History, Bureau of Reclamation https://www.usbr.gov/history/borhist.html ↩

  5. Kleinsorge, Paul L. (1941). The Boulder Canyon Project: Historical and Economic Aspects (Stanford: Stanford University Press). ↩

  6. "Teton Dam Failure". Retrieved 2008-05-07. https://www.usbr.gov/pmts/sediment/projects/TetonRiver/TetonRiver.htm ↩

  7. Paul E. Scheele Presidential Studies Quarterly Vol. 8, No. 4, Presidential Power and the Values and Processes of Democracy (Fall, 1978), pp. 348–364 ↩

  8. "Dam police department dissolved; park rangers now patrol facility". 13 December 2017. https://bouldercityreview.com/news/dam-police-department-dissolved-park-rangers-now-patrol-facility/ ↩

  9. Sutton, Imre (1968). "Geographical Aspects of Construction Planning: Hoover Dam Revisited". Journal of the West. 7 (3): 301–344. ↩

  10. Reclamation, Bureau of. "Bureau of Reclamation". www.usbr.gov. Retrieved 17 April 2018. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/keys.html ↩

  11. "AQUAFORNIA BREAKING NEWS: Camille Calimlim Touton nominated as Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner". 22 June 2020. https://www.watereducation.org/aquafornia-news/aquafornia-breaking-news-camille-calimlim-touton-nominated-bureau-reclamation ↩

  12. "Commissioners of Reclamation". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/commiss.html ↩

  13. "Frederick H. Newell, Chief Engineer, 1902-1907, Director, Reclamation Service, 1907-1914". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/newell.html ↩

  14. "Arthur P. Davis, Director, Reclamation Service, 1914-1923". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/davis.html ↩

  15. "David W. Davis, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1923-1924". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/ddavis.html ↩

  16. "Elwood Mead, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1924 - 1936". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/mead.html ↩

  17. "Mae Schnurr, (acting, times vary through 1936) Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1930-1936". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/schnurr.html ↩

  18. "John C. Page, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1936-1943". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/page.html ↩

  19. "Harry W. Bashore, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1943–1945". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/bashore.html ↩

  20. "Michael W. Straus, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1945–1953". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/straus.html ↩

  21. "Wilbur A. Dexheimer, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1953-1959". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/dexheimer.html ↩

  22. "Floyd E. Dominy, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1959-1969". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/dominy.html ↩

  23. "Ellis L. Armstrong, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1969-1973". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/armstrong.html ↩

  24. "Gilbert G. Stamm, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1973-1977". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/stamm.html ↩

  25. "R. Keith Higginson, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1977-1981". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/higginson.html ↩

  26. "Clifford I. Barrett, (Acting) Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1981, 1985". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/barrett.html ↩

  27. "Robert N. Broadbent, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1981-1984". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/broadbent.html ↩

  28. "Robert A. Olson (Acting) Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1984". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/olson.html ↩

  29. "Clifford I. Barrett, (Acting) Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1981, 1985". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/barrett.html ↩

  30. "C. Dale Duvall, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1986-1989". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/duvall.html ↩

  31. "Joe D. Hall (acting) Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1989". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/hall.html ↩

  32. "Dennis B. Underwood, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1989-1993". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/underwood.html ↩

  33. Marston, Ed (July 24, 1995). "A progressive bureaucrat signs off". High Country News. https://www.hcn.org/issues/issue-39/a-progressive-bureaucrat-signs-off/ ↩

  34. "Daniel P. Beard, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1993-1995". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/beard.html ↩

  35. "Stephen V. Magnussen, (Acting) Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1995". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/magnussen.html ↩

  36. "Eluid Martinez, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 1995-2001". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/martinez.html ↩

  37. "Reclamation names McDonald commissioner, Johnson retiresApril 1, 2009". Power Engineering. https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/energy-business/transitions-453/ ↩

  38. "Interview with John W. Keys III". Engineering News-Record. August 6, 2001. https://www.enr.com/articles/32202-headline-to-come ↩

  39. "Norton Lauds Service of John Keys as Commissioner of Bureau of Reclamation". DOI. March 17, 2006. https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/archive/news/archive/06_News_Releases/060317b.htm ↩

  40. "John W. Keys III, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 2001-2006". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/keys.html ↩

  41. "Reclamation: Bureau Veteran Nominated For Top Post". Engineering News-Record. July 31, 2006. https://www.enr.com/articles/31091-reclamation-bureau-veteran-nominated-for-top-post ↩

  42. "Senate confirms new Bureau of Reclamation commissioner". Power Engineering. October 3, 2006. https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/energy-business/senate-confirms-new-bureau-of-reclamation-commissioner/ ↩

  43. "Robert (Bob) W. Johnson, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 2006-2009". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/johnson.html ↩

  44. "Reclamation names McDonald commissioner, Johnson retiresApril 1, 2009". Power Engineering. https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/energy-business/transitions-453/ ↩

  45. "Secretary Salazar Lauds Senate's Confirmation of Michael Connor as Reclamation Commissioner". DOI. May 22, 2009. https://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/2009_05_22_releaseA ↩

  46. Harris, Michael (February 28, 2014). "Senate confirms Connor as Interior's new deputy secretary". Power Engineering. https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/energy-business/policy-and-regulation/senate-confrims-connor-as-interior-s-new-deputy-secretary/?related=headlines ↩

  47. "Michael L. Connor, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 2009 to 2014". USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/connor.html ↩

  48. Harris, Michael (March 5, 2014). "Pimley named interim commisioner of Reclamation". Power Engineering. https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/energy-business/policy-and-regulation/pimley-named-interim-commisioner-of-reclamation/ ↩

  49. "DOINews: All DOI Employees: Departmental Leadership". DOI. October 2, 2014. https://www.doi.gov/employees/messages/all-department-of-the-interior-staff-department-leadership ↩

  50. "Secretary Jewell Statement on the Senate Confirmation of Estevan López as Commissioner of Reclamation". DOI. December 17, 2014. https://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/secretary-jewell-statement-on-the-senate-confirmation-of-estevan-lopez-as-commissioner-of-reclamation ↩

  51. "Commissioner Estevan López Bureau of Reclamation, 2014 to 2016" (PDF). USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/Commissioner%20Estevan%20L%C3%B3pez%20bio.pdf ↩

  52. "Reclamation agrees to apply for Clean Water Act permit for Grand Coulee Dam". Power Engineering. February 1, 2017. https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/energy-business/policy-and-regulation/reclamation-agrees-to-apply-for-clean-water-act-permit-for-grand-coulee-dam/?related=headlines ↩

  53. "Commissioner Brenda W. Burman Bureau of Reclamation, 2017 to 2021" (PDF). USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/Brenda_Burman.pdf ↩

  54. "Camille Touton Sworn In as Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner". DOI. https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/camille-touton-sworn-bureau-reclamation-commissioner ↩

  55. "TRIBUTE TO CAMILLE CALIMLIM TOUTON". Congressional Record. 171 (10). January 17, 2025. https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-171/issue-10/senate-section/article/S242-1 ↩

  56. "Commissioner M. Camille Calimlim Touton Bureau of Reclamation, 2021 to 2025" (PDF). USBR. https://www.usbr.gov/history/CommissBios/M-Camille-Calimlim-Touton.pdf ↩

  57. Allhands, Joanna (January 24, 2025). "Feds spent months on a mostly useless plan to save the Colorado River". Arizona Republic. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/joannaallhands/2025/01/24/colorado-river-alternatives-plan-trump-administration/77908047007/ ↩