WSP07436

• File Number: 8543.600
• Description: San Luis Valley Project
• State: CO
• Basin: Rio Grande
• Date: 6/1/1987
• Author: USDOI/BOR
• Title: San Luis Valley Project - Colorado - Closed Basin Division - Design and Planning
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

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MODULE II

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PUBLIC INFORMATION BROCHURE

DESIGN AND PLANNING

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General Information about the Bur~au of R~clamation

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After his historic 1869 boat trip down the previously,
uncharted Colorado River, John Wesley Powell announced to the
nation that lithe West is an arid land) hostile to farming,
and will never be settled. . . unless the government dams the
rivers and saves uP' the winter and spring cunoff in artifi-
cial lakes and reservoirs."

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The Bureau of Reclamation was created in 1902 to channel the rivers of the West
for irrigation purposes, thus inviting millions to move to the unsettled terri-
tory. It was a national ethic that our natural resources be used to our benefit
so we have a better place to live.

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Major functions of the Bureau of Reclamation include planning, construction,
operation, and maintenance of water resource projects, and environmental enhan-
cement of the areas surrounding them. The Bureau program begins by making pro-
ject plans which will help meet national needs and goals; which will preserve,
enhance and protect the environment; and which will maximize regional goals and
social well-being. Reclamation's policy is generally to turn operation and
maintenance of completed projects over to the water users.

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Laboratory and field research efforts are focused on applied problems. Examples
are increased irrigation efficiency, improved constructio~ materials, water con-
servation, and water quality improvement. The environmental benefits when W8:ter
management practices regulate and augment low flows of rivers and streams,
decrease erosion, prevent floods, and eliminate water waste.

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The Bureau of Reclamation operates 355 reservoirs, 360 diversion dams,I,329 miles
of pipeline, 275 miles of tunnels, 241 pumping plants, 51 power plants, 15,720
miles of canals, and 50,985 miles of laterals and drains.

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The dams, powerplants and reservoirs provide electricity for 5.5 million people.
They irrigate 7.2% of the nation's cropland, in 1982 producing $1.4 billion in
crops--15.2% of the nation's produce, and 15% of the livestock.

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They provide municipal and industrial water to 14.6 million people (including
many parts of Denver, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas).

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They offered recreational opportunities to more than(13 million people in 1983.

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