Bureau of Reclamation

President Biden's Investing in America's Agenda, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, has had a substantial impact on 2024 spring and summer projects in the 17 Western states. Here's how Reclamation is distributing that funding to communities, Tribes, and water users. “And we’re not done yet!” #Reclamation

By working together through partnerships we can help support our communities. In FY 2023, Reclamation invested $40,000 to help our Tucson partnership acquire 50 new water cisterns. Each cistern can hold 1,500 gallons of rainwater, empowering low-income residents to harvest rainwater for their outdoor landscaping. This initiative aims to boost the planting of native vegetation, cooling down some of Tucson's hottest spots and providing vital habitat for local wildlife. ???? Learn more about this exciting program here: https://ow.ly/KQf850Ue3CE

Discover the beauty and history of Belle Fourche Dam and Reservoir! Located just eight miles east of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, this remarkable site not only provides essential water but also creates a vibrant habitat for wildlife and endless recreational opportunities. With approximately 8,000 acres of water surface, 6,700 acres of land, and 58 miles of stunning shoreline, Belle Fourche Reservoir is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts! Enjoy boating, fishing for walleye and catfish, ice skating, and camping in this beautiful setting. Completed in 1911, the Belle Fourche Dam was the largest earthen dam in the world at the time and is now a proud part of our National Register of Historic Places and Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks. Come experience the perfect blend of history and nature! #BelleFourcheDam #OutdoorAdventure #HistoricLandmarks #SouthDakota

Happy GIS Day 2024! Geographic information systems enable Reclamation environmental and social scientists and managers to collect, store, analyze, and visualize spatial data used to reveal relationships between representations of real-world phenomenon and communicate these trends in federal studies and decisions. Reclamation’s approximately 50 GIS professionals work every day to manage our enterprise and local spatial data, help subject matter experts do their jobs, and provide invaluable cartographic products and mapping applications to tell our story. #UnleashTheScience

?? Celebrating our heroes at Grand Coulee Dam! The Reclamation Employee Association proudly hosted a Veterans Day celebration that honored our dedicated veterans with inspiring stories from veteran speakers. The event was a reminder of the courage and dedication of all veterans. Let’s continue to support and learn from their stories! #VeteransDay #ThankYouVeterans #CPNRegion

#ICYMI Reclamation, California Department of Water Resources and their partners recently gathered in the Delta to officially launch the Prospect Island Tidal Habitat Restoration Project, a $69.4 million effort to reconnect Delta land with tidal-influenced flows and restore habitat for Delta smelt and other key fish species. News Release??: https://ow.ly/82QX50Ua05B News Story??: https://ow.ly/oxBQ50Ua05y #Restoration #CaWater

This year’s Glen Canyon Dam dive inspection was a little different! For the first time, the routine check of the forebay (the lakeside area directly behind the dam) and tailrace (the river area directly downstream) were conducted with a remote operated vehicle. The team launched from Wahweap Marina, traveled down the lake to the dam’s forebay, and deployed the ROV to collect data at depths of up to 150 feet. The next day, they launched a small boat from Glen Canyon to continue inspections on the river side. This unique approach allowed the team to get a comprehensive look at the dam’s under water structures!

In 1929, the construction of Deadwood Dam—located in the mountains of southwest Idaho—began. How do you get a constant supply of concrete across 67 miles of mountain roads to a remote construction site? As you can imagine, this was not an easy thing to achieve. After extensive road improvements were made, Reclamation crews worked on a tight schedule to complete the construction of the dam by the spring runoff season in 1931. To eliminate delays, builders used four trucks to make two daily deliveries of 250 sacks of concrete! Drivers unloaded the concrete by elevating one side of the truck on a 24-inch-high ramp. This allowed them to slide all 250 sacks of cement off in about five minutes ??. Deadwood Dam is the primary storage feature of the Payette Division of the Boise Project. Check out these construction images from the 1930s.

Exciting Update from Bull Lake Dam, Wyoming! Located within the Wind River Indian Reservation, Bull Lake Dam has been a vital asset to the community since its construction in 1938. After decades of reliable service, the dam has just received a significant upgrade! ?? What's New? The dam now features a state-of-the-art labyrinth weir structure in its newly completed spillway. This innovative design enhances the dam's spill capacity, improving efficiency for flood control and water management. ?? Why It Matters: The upgrade ensures that the dam continues to provide critical water resources for irrigation and flood control, safeguarding the local community's future with more reliable and efficient infrastructure. This project represents a major step forward in sustainable water management and the continued resilience of local communities. Here's to a stronger, safer Bull Lake Dam! ?? #Reclamation #Engineering #WaterManagement

This Veterans Day, we want to take a moment to recognize some of our many Reclamation veterans. Your unwavering bravery and dedication do not go unnoticed within our organization. Thank you for all that you’ve done and continue to do for Reclamation and our country. #VeteransDay #ThankYouVeterans #RecVets