Bureau of Reclamation

www.usbr.gov

Background

The Bureau of Reclamation, a part of the U.S. Interior Department, manages dams, power plants and canals in 17 western states and is the largest wholesaler of water in the nation.

The bureau says it brings water to more than 31 million people and provides water to one of every five western farmers. It's also the second-largest producer of hydroelectric power in the nation, generating more than 40 billion kilowatt hours a year.

The bureau also manages, with partners, 298 recreation sites – lakes created by dams – that see some 90 million visits a year.

One of its best known projects is Nevada's Hoover Dam, which created Lake Mead and generates power for Arizona, Nevada and California.

The bureau's Web site, http://www.usbr.gov, features information about each of its projects, including the Dataweb database with details for each dam such as the base width and construction date and the volume of concrete it took to build.

The site also includes real-time data on its water operations in several states allowing you to drill down to individual projects. Want to know the acre-feet of stored water at the Altus Dam on the North Fork Red River in Oklahoma? Look it up.

Location

National Contacts

Office of Public Affairs

Dan DuBray, chief
202-513-0574 (w)
202-420-1139 (cell)
ddubray@usbr.gov

Kip White
202-513-0684 (w)
202-271-8577 (cell)
cwhite@usbr.gov

Peter Soeth
303-445-3615 (w)
303-910-7473 (cell)
psoeth@usbr.gov

Regional Contact

The bureau's main office is in Washington, but it also has regional offices in the West. For bureau wide information, contact the Washington office, but for specific project info contact the office that covers that region:

Great Plains Region (Mont., N.D., S.D., Neb., Kan., Okla., and parts of Wyo., Tex., Colo.)

Mike Odle
406-247-7609 (w)
406-698-5362 (cell)
modle@usbr.gov

Lower Colorado Region (Parts of Ariz., Nev., and Calif.)

Bob Walsh
702-293-8421 (w)
702-591-0029 (cell)
bwalsh@usbr.gov

Mid-Pacific Region (Parts of Calif. and Nev.)

Pete Lucero
916-978-5101 (w)
707-363-4243 (cell)
plucero@usbr.gov

Pacific Northwest Region (Idaho, Ore., and Wash.)

John Redding
208-378-5212 (w)
jredding@usbr.gov

Upper Colorado Region (Utah and N.M. and parts of Colo, Wyo., and Tex.)

Barry Wirth
801-524-3774 (w)
bwirth@usbr.gov

Does this agency's information need updating? programs@nationalpress.org