The Bureau of Reclamation owns nearly 10,000 miles of canals. Water is a powerful force and with such a dispersed network of infrastructure, protecting the public is a serious responsibility. Ensuring reliability of operations and public safety is paramount. Achieving safe and reliable water delivery requires collaboration across all levels of federal, state and local governments as well as private operators and the public.
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The Current
Reclamation's Biweekly Newsletter

August 10, 2018

The Bureau of Reclamation owns nearly 10,000 miles of canals. Water is a powerful force and with such a dispersed network of infrastructure, protecting the public is a serious responsibility. Ensuring reliability of operations and public safety is paramount. Achieving safe and reliable water delivery requires collaboration across all levels of federal, state and local governments as well as private operators and the public.

Many of Reclamation's conveyance features are operated and maintained in partnership with irrigation and water districts. To keep water flowing, Reclamation and its associated canal managers, inspectors and operators are experts at both repairs, ranging from simple fixes to embankment replacement. Canal operations ensure appropriate amount of water is reliably delivered to Reclamation's many customers. To continue to support our partners to manage and deliver water, Reclamation shares best practices and expertise through manuals and training classes.

Reclamation has created guidance for canal operators to promote safe and effective operations and maintenance for canal systems. The following reference documents are available on Reclamation's website:

  • Canal Operator Manual
  • Canal Operation and Maintenance Manuals
    • Vegetation Control and Repair
    • Animal Control and Damage Repair
    • Concrete Lining and Structure Maintenance and Repair
    • Embankment Maintenance and Repair
    • Mechanical Equipment and SCADA Maintenance and Repair

Guidance helps irrigation and water districts identify operation and maintenance issues and to plan, budget and prioritize actions to address those issues. These manuals are available as a notebook or as a set of individual booklets for field use upon request.

Some canal operators have been working on their canals for decades while some only a few months. Regardless of experience, everyone needs to know why their job is vital to the health and safety of our water systems.

Reclamation offers Canal Operation and Maintenance Training. This class provides Reclamation project staff and operating entities the knowledge and tools to efficiently and effectively operate and maintain canals to ensure delivery of water. Reclamation also provides training to reinforce the why underlying effective operation and maintenance practices.

The eight-hour course covers:

  • Why Your Work is Important
  • Embankment Breach Consequences
  • Emergency Embankment Breach Response
  • Operations: Running Smoothly
  • Review of O&M Inspections
  • Vegetation Control Methods
  • Rodent Control Methods
  • Concrete Maintenance
  • Maintenance of Mechanical Equipment
  • Embankment Maintenance Methods
  • Seepage Repairs/Response
  • People Impacts/Outreach/Education
  • Public Safety Features
  • Documentation

Please visit Reclamation's Asset Management website at https://www.usbr.gov/assetmanagement/canalOamM.html to download the curriculum and documents.

If you have any questions or would like to arrange for a course, please contact Nick Casamatta at 303-445-3104 or ncasamatta@usbr.gov.

Recent News

Commissioner Burman presenting Lower Colorado Regional Director Terry Fulp the Commissioner's Safety Award to the Lower Colorado Region.
Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman recently awarded the Lower Colorado Region this year’s Commissioner’s Safety Award. The award is presented annually to the region that makes the greatest progress toward improving the safety of their facilities and exemplifying Reclamation’s vision statement of “I Care About Safety”. Learn More →

Houseboats on Whiskeytown Reservoir that were burned by the Carr Fire.
Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region’s hearts go out to its fellow Northern California Area Office employees who have either lost their homes or been evacuated and are continuing to cope with the Carr Fire’s devastation. Learn More →

The Rio Grande north of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman announced that fourteen tribes were selected to receive $1.9 million for technical assistance through the Native American Affairs Technical Assistance to Tribes Program. Learn More →

The minidoka powerplant in Idaho.
The Bureau of Reclamation has issued the final Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the maintenance and rehabilitation of the Minidoka Powerplant Unit 7 draft tube bulkhead structure, located at Minidoka Dam in Minidoka County, Idaho. Learn More →

The Rio Grande north of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Bureau of Reclamation today issued a Finding of No Significant Impact and Supplemental Environmental Assessment for the Planet Ranch Conservation Area. The Planet Ranch Conservation Area is being developed to create, enhance, and restore native habitat as part of the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program. The SEA was prepared to evaluate a change in the location of the flood control structure planned for the Conservation Area. Learn More →

An archaeological team investigates mammoth fossils discovered at Buffalo Bill Reservoir, Wyoming.
Mammoths were an ice-age, elephant-like animal with long, curved tusks. Fully grown, the pachyderm relative could weigh up to ten tons. Northern species, like the wooly mammoth, were hairy. It is believed that the animals first migrated to North America around 1.8 million years ago. Most of the animals died of 11,000 years ago, either as a result of the end of the ice age, human hunting, or a combination of both. Learn More →

Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project

A link to a video discussing the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project.

What is the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan and how does it tie in to the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project? This short animation explains these intertwined efforts in the Yakima River Basin. Learn more at www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/yrbwep.

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Washington DC 20240-0001

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