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0367 . . CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ~he Bureau of Reclamation plans, constructs, and operates mUlti-purpose water projects in the 17 western states. The primary purpose of the program is to provide storage and conveyance of water for irrigation. Other purposes include municipal and industrial water supply and the generation of hydroelectric power. (Although the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a similar mission, "it operates nationwide. The Corps' primary project purposes are navigation, flood damage reduction, and hydropower.) ~he original intent of the Federal Reclamation program in 1902 was to provide storage and delivery of water for irrigated farming to encourage families to claim and settle arid lands. The program was to be self financing, with initial outlays to be funded from receipts from the sale of public lands, and repayment made by irrigators within 10 years. The Bureau soon broadened its mission and began construction of its first hydroelectric plant in 1909. It became apparent as early as 1914 that irrigators would have difficulty repaying the Federal investment in water projects, as was originally intended. Since that time, a series of revisions to the 1902 Reclamation Act were enacted to stretch out repayment and to supplement public lands receipts with direct appropriations from the Treasury as a source of construction funding. Nearly 140 major projects have been completed at a cost of over $13 billion. These facilities include 349 darns, over 15,000 miles of canals, and 51 power plants. Three notable examples of Reclamation projects include the Grand Coulee Dam, HA; the infamous ~eton Darn, 10; and the controversial Garrison Diversion, ND. ~he Bureau's Fiscal Year 1985 budget request of $1.08. billion includes over S750 million allotted to the BuRec construction program of 13 major ongoin~ projects, five new starts, and other activities. (This compares with approximately $2.7 billion for the entire Corps program.) About half of the Reclamation budget currently goes into the Colorado Basin, to build and operate the facilities necessary for each of the states to capture its entitlement of water under the Colorado River Compact and related Supreme Court decrees. It should be noted that FY 84 funding levels are now 25% above those of FY 81. The Corps of Engineers water resources program has been reduced during this time. Other programs at the Department of the Interior, such as the purchase of park lands, have also been reduced while the Reclamation program has been scaled up.