Bureau of Reclamation

Established in 1902, under Teddy Roosevelt, the Bureau of Reclamation is part of the Department of the Interior. Its presence in the four regions made up of the 17 Western states concerns water resources. Dubbed “Reclamation” because of its initial purpose to provide irrigation in order to “reclaim” unusably arid land for human benefit, Reclamation is best-known for dam and canal projects, including the Hoover and Grand Coulee dams. More recently, however, Reclamation is known for its construction and maintenance of hydroelectric power plants. Emphasis at Reclamation has shifted from that of construction to maintenance of those facilities and environmental water concerns.

Although it is a federally funded agency, Reclamation's projects were in part supposed to be financed by those who benefited from them. Repayment to Reclamation prior to the 1960s often fell short due to terms favorable to consumers and unfavorable to the agency. Since the 1960s, new Reclamation contracts have been written so as to be less one-sided.

The 1980s saw a further shift at Reclamation. Due to changes in the running of the federal government, Reclamation changed from a construction agency to a maintenance one. Now well established as a natural resource management agency, Reclamation's mission is to deal with water and water-related resources in ways that are both environmentally and economically beneficial to American interests.

Reclamation's effect on business has been profound since its beginning. Through its irrigation and power plant projects in the West, Reclamation has made vast areas of arid land economically viable. In addition, Reclamation has had an effect on the use and management of water resources to control water hoarding and infringement on water rights.

Reclamation must balance national interests with state and tribal water rights and environmental concerns. As the population in the West grows, these concerns about water, power, and their appropriate use also grow. Reclamation faces new water-related challenges due to changes in the economy, population, and industry in the area.

Reclamation also has an international presence through its research and scientific and economic studies concerning water. Reclamation's economic impact in farming; ranching; residential, commercial, [Page 208]and industrial power and water; and the development of new economic units is enormous. This development includes water conservancy districts, also known as irrigation districts, for which many Reclamation projects have been undertaken.

Some might ask what business a federal agency has in this arena. To answer that, we can think of Reclamation as similar to those agencies that construct highways, railroads, and other infrastructure that contributes to the overall economic growth of the nation, as it has contributed to the Western expansion of previous centuries.

The Bureau of Reclamation serves the public good in its management of water resources in the West as well as its construction and maintenance programs concerning electric power. Charged with reclaiming the usefulness of the arid West, Reclamation is important to the vital needs of both citizens and business in the areas of its operation.

Still, though, Reclamation is not without its critics. Significant criticisms come from environmentalists who are concerned about the reliance on water levels to which the Western states have become accustomed. Some water resources that Reclamation has exploited for development are nonrenewable at the current rates of use, such as the reclaiming of groundwater. This casts a questionable light on many Reclamation projects in that it seems that via Reclamation some economic and development enterprises in the West rely on water that will not be there in the long run to support the projects. So while the initial purpose of Reclamation was to make the West usable, it may have done its job too well—making the West more usable than the water resources can really sustain.

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