Water Delivery2 | 2021 SECURE Report Web Portal

Water Delivery Strategies

Actions to manage risks to water deliveries from variations in hydrology, including risks from floods, droughts, and water supply variability

Since 1902, Reclamation’s assets have provided secure, reliable water deliveries for irrigation, people, and the environment; generated energy efficiently to meet our economic needs; ensured outdoor recreation opportunities; and fulfilled our commitments to Tribal nations in the 17 Western States. As Reclamation and its local customers, partners, and stakeholders face challenges from climate change and shifting demographics, we are taking a multi-faceted approach to support reliable water deliveries, including: construction activities, water management improvements, diversifying supplies through water reuse, and conjunctive use of ground and surface water.

Now in the final design stage, the Arkansas Valley Conduit, once completed, would provide a safe, long-term water supply to as many as 50,000 people in 40 rural communities along the Arkansas River in Southeastern Colorado. Drinking water now delivered to about 5,200 people in the area does not meet National Primary Drinking Water Regulations due to naturally occurring radionuclides in current groundwater sources, and 17 communities are under state enforcement orders. This project will allow water providers to deliver safe, affordable drinking water and support future growth.

Since 2016, Reclamation has leveraged $365 million in Federal funding with $1.1 billion in non-Federal cost-share funding for 749 WaterSMART projects, as shown on the map on the next page. These projects support a wide range of water management activities, including water delivery system improvements, drought contingency plans, restoration planning by watershed groups, water reuse and recycling projects, and more. Through WaterSMART, Reclamation provides cost-shared financial assistance to water managers on a competitive basis for projects to conserve water, increase the production of hydropower, develop water marketing strategies, and mitigate the risk of water conflicts.

The Pilot System Conservation Program in the Colorado River Basin demonstrated that cost-shared conservation projects provide a viable contribution to water savings, and the lessons learned are being applied to possible future demand management. In the Lower Colorado River Basin, agricultural, municipal, and tribal projects in Arizona, California, and Nevada conserved more than 165,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead from fiscal year (FY) 2015 to FY2018. In the Upper Colorado River Basin, projects conserved about 47,000 acre-feet through 2018 (Reclamation 2020 [PSCP]).

The Sidney Water Users Irrigation District in northeastern Montana will use a WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grant to convert 12,200 feet of an earthen canal to pipeline and install flow meters, which is expected to save 1,312 acre-feet a year of water that is now lost to seepage and inefficient conveyance. For more on this project, click the button below.

Water recycling is often drought-resistant, since sources such as treated municipal wastewater continue to be available during periods of water shortage. Reclamation provides grant funding through the Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program (Title XVI) for projects that reclaim and reuse wastewater and impaired ground and surface water. Since 1992, Reclamation has allocated more than $761 million in Title XVI Program funding. This funding, along with non-Federal cost-shares, has resulted in more than $3.4 billion in total investments in reuse projects. Projects funded through this program delivered over 411,000 acre-feet of recycled water in 2019.

In addition to water conservation and reuse, managing ground and surface water conjunctively can also provide flexibility to prevent water shortages.

Water can be stored underground. For example, in the Yakima River Basin, Reclamation is partnering with the Yakama Nation, irrigation districts, and the Washington Department of Ecology to evaluate diverting water from the Yakima River during the non-irrigation season into canals, allowing the water to seep and travel through the shallow aquifer back to the river to augment supplies in the late summer and fall.

Groundwater and surface water can be marketed to provide flexible supplies. For example, in the Upper Red and Upper Washita basins in Oklahoma, ongoing basin studies are carefully evaluating conditions that best predict the onset of critical drought periods, which can inform voluntary “dry-year lease” agreements. Under a dry-year lease agreement, the owner of a surface water permit could pay a groundwater user to curtail pumping at specific times to protect the surface water right.