The Mid-Pacific Region
Foreword
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Much of the water supply in California and bordering areas is no longer reliable. Many of the systems are environmentally unsustainable. A long-term solution is essential for the economic and environmental well-being of critical natural resources. The Department of the Interior is committed to long-term water supply improvements and environmental restoration in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Mid-Pacific Region, which includes California and parts of Oregon and Nevada.
The Region implemented strategies to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness to deal with diverse and complicated issues in a world of changing climate and changing public values. The improvements were coupled with the priorities of protecting human health and safety; and developing and maintaining relationships essential to accomplishing tasks. Regional Director Don Glaser directed the Regional Management Team to focus on workload management and acquisition efforts while preparing to meet future needs, projects and issues.
Two of the Region’s actions were creating the Program Coordination Office, to prioritize programs across the region, and the Bay-Delta Office, to focus on issues involving the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Delta is a central focus in addressing water supply and environmental restoration for the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project.
Organizational efficiency and effectiveness enabled the Region to more than double its Fiscal Year 2010 program of $250 million to $585 million, due to infusion of funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Funding was designated for maintaining water supplies, repairing water and power infrastructure, mitigating effects of drought, addressing environmental impacts associated with project operations, and developing more water reuse and recycling projects. Reclamation was provided nearly $1 billion in ARRA funds and of that, the Region received about a third, $335 million. The Region, in Fiscal Year 2010, obligated nearly all those funds.
The Region addressed deferred construction and maintenance projects and awarded contracts for projects and activities associated with emerging water challenges. The projects had to meet parameters of ARRA and be “shovel ready.” Those projects and ongoing program advances in FY 2010 and early FY 2011 are detailed in this report.
Regional Director Don Glaser
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| Regional Director Donald Glaser |
As Regional Director for the Mid-Pacific Region, Don Glaser oversees
the management of the Bureau of
Reclamation’s water projects in an
area encompassing the northern two-thirds of
California, most of western Nevada, and part of
southern Oregon.
In addition to the Regional Office headquarters in Sacramento, California, the Region includes five Area Offices located in Klamath Falls, Oregon; Carson City, Nevada; and Redding, Folsom, and Fresno, California; and three specialized offices, the MP Construction Office located in Willows, California; the Central Valley Operations Office in Sacramento; and the Bay Delta Office in Sacramento.
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| California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Regional Director Don Glaser settle into a California Air National Guard helicopter for a tour that was part of an April 2010 announcement of funding allocations from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for Mid-Pacific Region projects. |
Appointed Regional Director in May 2008, Mr. Glaser is responsible for one of Reclamation’s best-known projects, California’s Central Valley Project, the largest irrigation project in the nation. The CVP provides urban water for millions of people; irrigation water to millions of acres of farmland; industrial water for key economic areas of California, such as the Silicon Valley; and environmental water for wildlife needs and fishery restoration. Its hydroelectric plants also help meet the area’s power needs.
Mr. Glaser’s experiences are varied and include 20 years with Reclamation in several positions throughout the West and in Washington, D.C., including Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner for Resources Management.
Before coming to Reclamation in 2008, he spent seven years managing several non-profits engaged in water education, open space preservation, and fish and wildlife conservation and restoration. Prior to that, he was a water resource consultant, the Executive Director for the Presidential Commission on Western Water Policy, and the State Director for the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado.
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| Don Glaser signs one of the contracts connected with major projects advanced in 2010. | Don Glaser speaking at the dedication of the Freeport Regional Water Authority’s new intake facility located on the Sacramento River upstream from Freeport. |
Regional Director’s Statements During 2010 Addresses to the Public or Employees |
…there is a reason for accomplishment. ... priorities change; public service is a constant. ... proper management actions are essential. |
Map of Major Accomplishments
April 1, 2011