Water Management Planning

The Water Conservation Field Services Program was established to actively encourage water conservation, assist water districts with their responsibility to develop water conservation plans, and complement and support state and other conservation programs, particularly where improved water management can be fostered on a watershed basis.

Under the WCFSP, the term conservation is used to mean efficient use and not merely saving water for other purposes. The WCFSP is intended to assist both urban and agricultural water districts, manage water more effectively. The WCFSP focuses on measuring water to know how much is being diverted and delivered; accounting for deliveries of water to know where and how it is being used; and encouraging efficient water management practices to maximize the beneficial use of diversions from reservoirs, streams, and aquifers, while minimizing the environmental impacts to instream and other watershed resources.

The Water Management Planning component of the WCFSP provides assistance to water agencies in the development of quality water conservation plans. In many cases, this is technical assistance provided by Bureau of Reclamation staff. In other cases, it may be financial assistance through cost-sharing to support the district in the development of water conservation plans. Typically, Water Management Planning activities include:

• Conduct field visits to assist with resource inventories and water conservation plans
• Assist with planning surveys and designs, water budgets and investigations, studies, and evaluations
• Facilitate planning among districts by encouraging and developing partnerships and agreements
• Coordinate technical assistance through partnerships and agreements among organizations