Terry Fulp: Three Decades of Public Service in Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Region
The Bureau of Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Basin Region manages the agency’s water and power facilities on the last 688 miles of the Colorado River, across southern Nevada, Southern California, most of Arizona, and small portions of New Mexico and Utah. Reclamation facilities in the region, including the iconic Hoover Dam, deliver 9 million acre-feet of […]
Dr. Tim Petty on the New Water Management Executive Order
Dr. Tim Petty, the assistant secretary for water and science in the U.S. Department of the Interior, is responsible for the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and consequently, for a wide variety of issues related to water infrastructure, water resources, energy, ecosystems, and natural disasters. Because this broad scope naturally brought […]
Commissioner Burman: The History of Collaboration in the Colorado Basin
From its roots at the turn of the 20th century, the Bureau of Reclamation has grown to be the nation’s largest water supplier and its second-largest supplier of hydroelectricity, playing a critical role in western agriculture and urban development. Under the leadership of Commissioner Brenda Burman, Reclamation has played a key role in moving forward […]
Leslie James of CREDA: Advocating for Hydroelectric Power Customers in the Colorado Basin
The Colorado River Energy Distributors Association (CREDA) is a trade association that represents firm power customers of the hydroelectric facilities of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP). CREDA aims to protect and enhance the resources of the CRSP while also advocating for affordable and transparent power rates. Its efforts are carried out […]
How the Hydroelectric Design Center Supports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Crucial Hydropower Services
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has many crucial roles: It maintains the nation’s navigable waterways, it works to reduce flood risk, it engages in civil engineering projects both at home and abroad, and it helps rebuild war-torn areas. Less known to many is that the Army Corps is also the largest single owner-operator of […]
FERC Proposes Significant Changes to Dam Safety Regulations in Wake of Michigan Dam Failures
By Chuck Sensiba and Melissa Horne On July 24, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) that proposes to overhaul the FERC dam safety regulations promulgated under section 10(c) of the Federal Power Act. The NOPR proposes revisions to part 12 of FERC’s regulations governing dam safety, including […]
The Course Offerings of Voith’s HydroSchool
Voith Hydro is a complete system supplier that produces turbines and generators for the world’s hydropower stations, from the smallest to the largest. Like many companies, Voith has developed numerous internal training programs to help train new hires and improve the skills of longtime employees. However, it has also opened similar courses up to its […]
Ensuring the Efficiency and Competitiveness of Reclamation’s Hydropower Fleet
The Bureau of Reclamation owns 78 hydroelectric power facilities that supply a capacity of over 15,500 megawatts (MW), of which it directly operates and maintains 53. This puts it second only to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in terms of its hydropower capacity. Max Spiker is a 32‑year Reclamation veteran who today serves as […]
An Insider’s Look at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Dam Safety Program
The Bureau of Reclamation is internationally recognized as a leader in dam safety. The 1978 Reclamation Safety of Dams Act established an independent dam safety program within Reclamation. This program covers routine dam inspections and evaluations as well as corrective work and repairs and has become the global standard in the dam safety field. In […]
Sharon Powers of the U.S. Society on Dams: Supporting the Dam and Levee Industry
During the first half of 2020, the hydropower industry has been subject to major regulatory changes that are likely to have far-reaching and significant consequences for licensees, regulators, and other stakeholders. These changes include two major rules altering longstanding regulations pertaining to the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); proposed […]