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Stakeholder Profile: Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation is the federal agency responsible for managing the scarce water resources of the 17 western states. Since its establishment in 1902, Reclamation has played an important role in the settlement and economic development of the West through the planning, design, and construction of numerous water projects and facilities that provide for critical water storage and delivery and hydropower production. Reclamation has constructed more than 600 dams and reservoirs including Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River.
Reclamation is the largest wholesaler of water in the country, providing water to more than 31 million people, and supplying one out of five Western farmers with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland that produce 60 percent of the nation’s vegetables and 25 percent of its fruits and nuts. In addition, Reclamation is also the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the western United States. Reclamation’s 58 powerplants annually provide more than 40 billion kilowatt hours and produce enough electricity to serve six million homes.
As the challenges of managing water in the Western United States have become more complex, Reclamation’s mission has evolved to meet these challenges. Today, Reclamation is a contemporary water resources management agency committed to greater collaboration with western states, tribes, and other interests in order to meet growing, and often competing needs for water.
The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (AMP), which was implemented as a result of the 1996 Record of Decision on the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam Final Environmental Impact Statement, demonstrates the complexity of contemporary water issues. The purpose for the AMP is to identify operational modifications for Glen Canyon Dam, based on research, environmental experimentation, and studies, that enhance the downstream ecosystem and meet the provisions of the Grand Canyon Protection Act. Reclamation serves on the Adaptive Management Work Group and the Technical Work Group.