Climate Change

Interior Releases Report Highlighting Impacts of Climate Change to Western Water Resources - This report assesses climate change risks and how these risks could impact water operations, hydropower, flood control, and fish and wildlife in the western United States.  The report to Congress represents the first consistent and coordinated assessment of risks to future water supplies across eight major Reclamation river basins, including the Colorado, Rio Grande and Missouri river basins. More...

• SECURE Water Act Section 9503(c) — Reclamation Climate Change and Water 2011 (PDF - 3.54 MB)

• West-Wide Climate Risk Assessments: Bias-Corrected and Spatially Downscaled Surface Water Projections (PDF - 2.17 MB)

• News Release: Interior Releases Report Highlighting Impacts of Climate Change to Western Water Resources (April 25, 2011)

Reclamation Testifies at Field Hearing - Reclamation Commissioner Michael L. Connor testified at the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Field Hearing in Santa Fe, New Mexico on April 27, 2011 on Climate Change and its Effect on Western Water Supplies. Read the Testimony...

Report Published Identifying Climate Change Research Needs for Long-Term Water Resources Planning and Management - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation have published a report, "Addressing Climate Change in Long-Term Water Resources Planning and Management: User Needs for Improving Tools and Information," that identifies the needs of local, state, and federal water management agencies for climate change information and tools to support long-term planning. More...

• Executive Summary
• Addressing Climate Change in Long-Term Water Resources Planning and Management:  User Needs for Improving Tools and Information, Appendix A and Appendix B (3 MB)
• Appendix C - Record of Perspectives Contributed by Other Organizations, Table Comments(1 MB)
• Appendix D - Record of Perspectives Contributed by Other Organizations, Letter Comments (3 MB)

Reclamation Releases Literature Synthesis on Climate Change Implications for Reclamation's Water and Environmental Resources - Reclamation today released a scientific report summarizing recent literature on the past and projected effects of climate change on hydrology and water resources in the western United States. Read the Report

More Information:

SECURE Water Act Section 9503(c) - Reclamation Climate Change and Water 2011

• Full Report
• News Release
• Illustration
• Fact Sheet
  • Colorado River Basin
  • Columbia River Basin
  • Klamath River Basin
  • Missouri River Basin
  • Rio Grande Basin
  • Sacramento - San Joaqun
    River Basins
  • Truckee River Basin

Report Published Identifying Climate Change Research Needs for Long-Term Water Resources Planning and Management

• Full Report
• News Release

Change in precipitation and temperature in western United States from 1950-1979 to 2070-2099 - The following maps show the change in precipation and temperature from a 30 year period (1950-1979) to a 30 year period (2070-2099).  More...

Climate Change Adaptation Research - Reclamation is seeking to understand how climate change will impact western water resources. Climate change adaptation research not only improves our ability to understand and define climate change impacts on western water resources, but it also develops a portfolio of tools for adapting water management as the climate changes. More...

WaterSMART Basin Studies - Reclamation's has complimentary activities within the WaterSMART Basin Study Program as a comprehensive approach to incorporate the best available science into climate change adaptation planning.  These activities include the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, West-Wide Climate Risk Assessments, and Basin Studies.  Togehter these activites are in accordance with Secretarial Orders 3289 and 3297 and meet the authorizations of the SECURE Water Act.