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| Water
from a well in the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Klamath
Project pours into a ditch on the California-Oregon
state line. BuRec got praise and criticism in a Family
Farm Alliance survey of operations. |
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Irrigation districts describe
dealings with BuRec
Tam Moore
Oregon Staff Writer
7/22/2005
Capital
Press Weekly Ag Newspaper
Across the irrigated West, irrigation districts
have weighed in on their federal support agency, the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation. The message comes in the form of eight case studies
assembled this summer by Family Farm Alliance, an association of federal
irrigators.
The report describes worries that BuRec isn’t replacing the engineers
who built the big projects over the past 100 years, creating possible
problems as structures wear out and need replacement. It also points to
ways that BuRec helped states and local irrigation districts accomplish
projects that wouldn’t otherwise be done.
“There are some great, great examples of partnership,” said Dan
Keppen, the engineer and executive director of the Alliance, who pulled
together the report.
The document was delivered in June to a National Research Council
committee. The U.S. Department of Interior, BuRec’s parent agency,
invited the review of how to best manage construction and infrastructure
in the 21st century.
“Reclamation is a unique agency,” said Keppen, who used to work for
BuRec. “There is a good relationship with most of their customers.
.... They are sharing costs.”
Typical BuRec projects were built with federal dollars, then purchased
over time through payback by irrigators. Where the relationship gets
difficult is when BuRec bills overhead costs to irrigators, and where
local BuRec districts farm out research or design to a technical center
in Denver that supports projects across the West.
“Western water users find that cost estimates prepared by Reclamation
for proposed work are often significantly higher than reasonably
anticipated costs,” Keppen said in a transmittal letter.
He also criticized BuRec for “an unwillingness” to show the basis
for costs on construction, environmental reviews and similar work.
One of the success stories is California’s Sacramento River Basin
management plan, a joint effort of water contractors, BuRec and
California Department of Water resources. Praise came for letting
sub-basins develop water conservation plans and “movement away from a
‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.”
On the other side of the coin, the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy
District wanted to add an outlet to a major reservoir by 2007. After
dealing with BuRec’s technical service center since 1999, the district
gave up and hired an outside engineer to eliminate massive cost overruns
during pre-design. A similar story came from Oregon’s Hermiston
Irrigation District, caught in a dam safety upgrade. The project was
estimated at $115,000 including engineering design, with 55 percent of
the cost attributed to BuRec staff work.
However, the Idaho Water Users Association praised BuRec’s Snake River
Area office in Boise for keeping operation and maintenance costs of dams
and pumping plants below budget.
“What it comes down to,” said Keppen, “is those districts have
good relationships with area offices.”
Tam Moore is based in Medford, Ore. His e-mail address is tmoore@capitalpress.com.
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