Infrastructure

Infrastructure Investment Strategy

Reclamation’s Infrastructure Investment Strategy (Strategy) describes the steps the bureau will take over the next few years to improve the characterization and reporting of anticipated Major Rehabilitation and Replacement (MR&R) activities at Reclamation-owned facilities. Implementing the Strategy will improve the information used to manage extraordinary maintenance, deferred maintenance, and dam safety modifications, in coordination with water and power partners and other stakeholders.

Background

Reclamation began developing the Strategy in 2014 through an internal evaluation of current asset management practices and the data used to support infrastructure investment decisions at nearly 4,000 unique Reclamation-owned assets. The effort resulted in several proposals for improving the collection, documentation, and reporting of projected asset management needs identified through MR&R reporting. Reclamation issued the Strategy in June 2015, presenting 14 action items that will increase the quality and utility of MR&R information by building on existing processes for gathering and managing data, characterizing the importance and urgency of future infrastructure investments, communicating with stakeholders through transparent reporting, and working collaboratively with our partners to address critical funding requirements.

Implementing the Strategy

Reclamation has begun a two-phased approach to implement the Strategy. The two phases will overlap and some actions will run concurrently on a timeline over the next several years. The initial phase will focus on the improvement of data collected regarding MR&R needs, with a primary emphasis on reserved works (facilities that Reclamation owns and maintains). It will include continued work on characterizing the importance and urgency of MR&R needs based on common categorization criteria. The second phase will be focused on outreach to external stakeholders. The variability in the nature of transferred works facilities and the capacity of our water and power partners will require their input into the scope of the data collected. Reclamation will seek input from our partners on how the data can be effectively used to support investment decisions and what additional authority or program support may be needed to address immediate and long term infrastructure needs to ensure safe and reliable facilities into the future.

Opportunities for Stakeholder Input

Reclamation presented the Strategy at a public stakeholder meeting in Denver, Colorado, on August 20, 2015. The presentation initiated a broad outreach effort, which will include additional opportunities for stakeholder input at local and regional meetings. A second Reclamation-wide stakeholder meeting to provide updates on the status of implementation efforts will be held in late summer of 2016.

Contact

For more information contact Lindsay Grabner at lgrabner@usbr.gov, 303-445-2932, or at the following address:

Bureau of Reclamation
Asset Management Division (86-67220)
P.O. Box 25007
Denver, CO 80225-0007