U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) is a federal agency within the Department of the Interior, primarily focused on developing and managing irrigation water supplies in the western United States. Established to support agricultural productivity, the bureau surveys potential project sites, acquires water rights, and constructs critical infrastructure such as dams, reservoirs, and diversion facilities. Notable projects include the Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam, which have played significant roles in water management for Western farms.
Farmers benefit from long-term contracts with the USBR that stipulate water allocations and pricing, often with substantial subsidies—sometimes exceeding 90% of the actual development costs. This has led to debate over the economic justification of these projects, particularly concerning whether the subsidies favor large farming operations instead of the small farmers originally intended to benefit.
In recent decades, the USBR has shifted its focus from new water development to enhanced water management practices, including conservation and reallocation, to address the challenges of limited water resources. This evolution reflects the growing need for sustainable management solutions in an era of increasing water demands. As a result, the bureau's policies and practices continue to evoke diverse perspectives regarding their impact on agricultural communities and resource use in the West.
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Subject Terms
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
- DATE: Established as the Reclamation Service in 1902; renamed 1923
The Bureau of Reclamation is the federal agency that has been chiefly responsible for the development of federal irrigation water projects in the American West.
Background
The Bureau of Reclamation is an agency within the US Department of the Interior whose chief mandate is to develop and manage irrigation water supplies in the western United States. Toward this end, the bureau surveys potential project sites; acquires water rights; constructs dams, reservoirs, and diversion facilities; and in many cases subsequently manages reclamation projects. Together with its predecessor agency, the Reclamation Service, the bureau has constructed hundreds of reclamation projects and provides water to a vast number of Western farms. Some of the largest and most famous dam projects in the West, including Hoover Dam, Glen Canyon Dam, and Grand Coulee Dam, are projects of the Bureau of Reclamation.
Under reclamation law, farmers receiving bureau water enter into a long-term (typically forty-year, but sometimes much longer) contract with the bureau that fixes the terms under which repayment is to occur. These terms include the maximum quantity of water that farmers are entitled to receive in a given year and the price that they are required to pay over the term of the contract. Farmers lucky enough to contract with the bureau are exempt from paying interest on the cost of construction of the project. In multiple-purpose projects, the bureau has on occasion reduced the payment burden to farmers still further by levying heavier fees on other user groups, such as urban recipients and hydropower. The overall subsidy to farmers is believed to be considerable, in some cases exceeding 90 percent of the actual cost of water development.
Impact on Resource Use
The policies of the Bureau of Reclamation have been highly controversial. Supporters of federal reclamation argue that the bureau has provided considerable income to western farmers and has greatly expanded agricultural production. Opponents point out that many reclamation projects have not been economically justified and question whether western farmers should receive the massive subsidies given them under reclamation law. Furthermore, it is likely that a considerable fraction of these subsidies has gone to large farming operations, a situation that goes directly against the intent of the original federal reclamation program, which targeted small farmers. The Reclamation Reform Act, passed by Congress in 1982, went some way toward reducing the magnitude of the average subsidy while expanding the size of the farm eligible to receive bureau water. The latter provision had the effect of making actual bureau policy more consistent with reclamation law.
Since the 1980s, bureau policies have increasingly deemphasized water development in favor of a stronger focus on water management, mainly through water and reallocation. This changed emphasis reflects the fact that few economically feasible water projects remain to be undertaken in the West. Consequently, additional demands for water are unlikely to be met through expansion of supply but rather through improved management of existing supplies.
Bibliography
"About Us." US Bureau of Reclamation, 1 July 2020, www.usbr.gov/main/about/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
"Bureau of Reclamation: History, Authorities, and Issues for Congress." Congressional Research Service, 3 Apr. 2020, crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46303. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Maccarone, Ellen M. "Bureau of Reclamation." Britannica, 15 Nov. 2025, www.britannica.com/topic/US-Bureau-of-Reclamation. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.