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Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations Objectives and Setting of Study .. This report contains the results of a study by the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Indian Affai rs) to identify projects having potentially attractive opportunities for conserving irrigation water supplies in the 17 Western United States. From this stuqy, priorities can be established and an effective action plan for further, detailed studies sufficient to justify implementation of improvements on selected projects can be outlined and i nit i ated. The s tuqy was confined to examination of federally constructed, owned, or operated irrigation projects under jurisdiction of Reclamation and Indian Affairs, Oepartment of the Interior. A1 though this study identifies projects which may have a potential for improved water conservation, it should not be interpreted to infer that reasonable use of water is not presently bei ng made on these projects under the prevailing economic, legal, and institutional setting. The stuqy focused on agricultural use of water, since about 90 percent of the water consumed in the 17 Western United States is for crop production. Furthermore, the study was limited to an inventory of Federal irrigation projects which are the responsibility of either Reclamation or Indian Affairs. These Federal projects provided water to approximately 10.6 million acres of land during 1976, r .- t .. which represent only approximately 20 percent of the i rri gated cropland in the Western United States, the remainder being under control of private or other irrigation interests. Municipal, industrial, and domesti c water use represents an additional opportunity to conserve water; however, this use is beyond the scope of thi s study and represented only 8 percent of Reclamation deliveries in 1976. A1 though all Federal projects were considered during the study, data were collected and analysis made on 61 existing projects reported herei n. These 61 projects presently deliver about 11.9 million acre-feet of water annually for irrigation use to approximately 2.4 mi 11 i on acres. Authori ty Acti ng under the authori ty of Public Law 95-18, Emergency Drought Act of 1977, a Water Conservation Opportunities Study Team was organized with Reclamation and Indian Affairs representatives to evaluate the operational effectiveness of irrigation facilities on projects under jurisdiction of both agencies to identify those provi di ng the best opportuniti es for the conservation of water. Limitations The ultimate goal of water conservation activities should be the wise and judicious use of i