News Release Archive

Secretary Salazar Announces $1 Billion Economic Recovery Investment in America's Water Infrastructure

Media Contact: Michael R. Odle, (406) 246-7610, 04/15/2009 13:00

For Release: April 15, 2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation will invest $1 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to repair America's water infrastructure and help address the country's long-term water supply challenges. Of the $1 billion invested through Reclamation $234.5 million will go to the Great Plains Region projects.

"From aging dams to outdated water systems, America's water infrastructure needs immediate attention and investment," said Secretary Salazar. "The $1 billion we are investing through the President's economic recovery plan will put Americans to work rebuilding our water infrastructure and tackling the complex and painful water challenges we are facing. These investments will boost our economy, help farmers, businesses and communities get the water they need to thrive and restore aquatic resources in the West."

Secretary Salazar unveiled the Recovery Act funding today at a press conference in Sacramento alongside Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and members of Congress. Overall, the Department of the Interior will manage $3 billion in investments as part of the recovery plan signed by the President to jumpstart our economy, create or save jobs and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st Century.

"One-fifth of Reclamation's total Recovery Act funding - $200 million dollars - is being invested in our nation's rural water systems," said Secretary Salazar. "These dollars will stimulate local economies, protect and restore the environment, provide water to Native Americans and rural communities, provide for water conservation and reuse and address an aging infrastructure all with an eye toward tomorrow and the next generation," he said. "Reclamation's efforts will have a significant impact on communities across the West."

Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be invested in six rural water projects located primarily in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. In addition, at least ten projects are being funded in northern Colorado, supporting infrastructure maintenance and reliability improvements along the Colorado-Big Thompson (C-BT) Project.

In Montana, the Fort Peck/Dry Prairie Rural Water Project will receive $40 million to finish a water treatment plant and complete construction of water supply lines, enabling the delivery of quality drinking water to several reservation and non-reservation rural communities.

The Rocky Boys/North Central Rural Water Project in Montana will receive $20 million to enable the construction of an intake superstructure and 12 miles of core system pipeline to help deliver quality drinking water to the Rocky Boys reservation.

Garrison Diversion Unit Rural Water project in North Dakota is receiving $59 million for the construction of water treatment plants, an intake structure and storage facilities serving three Indian reservations and other projects under the state's municipal, rural and industrial water program.

The Mni Wiconi Rural Water Project in South Dakota has been allocated $20 million for water system rehabilitation of intake structures, treatments plants, and addition of storage facilities. These projects provide benefits to three South Dakota Indian Reservations.

The Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, which serves South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, is receiving $56.5 million to accelerate construction of a water treatment plant to deliver quality drinking water to five communities.

The Perkins County Rural Water Project in South Dakota will receive $4.5 million to assist with the completion of pipeline and storage distribution systems. This money will hasten final completion of the project, and result in providing several thousand people with quality drinking water at an earlier date than originally anticipated.

Recovery Act funds in Colorado will develop and implement programs to improve water availability and ensure long-term sustainability of water supplies from the C-BT project. The C-BT is a water diversion, delivery and hydro-electric power generation project enabling the annual diversion and delivery of supplemental water to 720,000 people from Ft. Collins and Boulder to Sterling, Colo. CB-T generates enough electricity to power 58,300 American homes for a year, equal to 759 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

Funding may generate jobs in local communities on both sides of the Continental Divide in northern Colorado. One of the larger infrastructure improvement projects includes $14 million to recoat the Flatiron Penstocks, a dual water pipeline one mile long, dropping water down 1,064 feet to the Flatiron Power Plant. The pipeline delivers water for hydro-electrical power generation and helps supply supplemental water for 29 cities and towns and 620,000 irrigated acres of farmland.

With an array of projects identified by stakeholders as critical, the Bureau of Reclamation worked through a rigorous merit-based process to identify investments that met the criteria put forth in the Recovery Act: namely, that the project addresses the Department's highest priority mission needs; generates the largest number of jobs in the shortest period of time; and creates lasting value for the American public.

The $1 billion announced today will go to Bureau of Reclamation and the Central Utah Project programs including:

  • Meeting Future Water Supply Needs (including Title XVI water recycling projects and rural water projects) - $450 million
  • Improving Infrastructure Reliability and Safety - $165 million
  • Environmental and Ecosystem Restoration - $235 million
  • Water Conservation Initiative (Challenge Grants) - $40 million
  • Green Buildings - $14 million
  • Emergency drought relief in the West - $40 million
  • Delivering water from the Colorado River to users in central Utah under the Central Utah Project - $50 million

"President Obama and this Department have ambitious goals to build America's new energy future, to protect and restore our treasured landscapes, to create a 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps," added Salazar. "These Bureau of Reclamation projects will help us fulfill these goals while helping American families and their communities prosper again."

Secretary Salazar has pledged unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Department of the Interior's economic recovery projects. The public will be able to follow the progress of each project on www.recovery.gov and on recovery.doi.gov. Secretary Salazar has appointed a Senior Advisor for Economic Recovery, Chris Henderson, and an Interior Economic Recovery Task Force. Henderson and the Task Force will work closely with the Department of the Interior's Inspector General to ensure that the recovery program is meeting the high standards for accountability, responsibility, and transparency that President Obama has set.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.

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