The
federal Bureau of Reclamation is at the center of water policy in the arid
American West. For more than a century, the agency has built and operated dams,
canals, and hydropower plants in the 17 western states. It owns 76 hydropower
plants and is the largest wholesaler of water in the nation. It has 5,200
employees and net budget outlays of $1.5 billion annually.
Reclamation's
policies have created economic distortions and environmental damage. Numerous
dams were not worth the cost of construction and only won approval because of
pork barrel politics. About four-fifths of the water that Reclamation supplies
today goes to farmers, who receive it at a fraction of its market value.
Subsidized irrigation water causes various environmental harms, including
inefficient water use, high salinization levels in rivers, and damage to
wetlands.
In
the 19th century, irrigation was a state, local, and private concern. The
Mormons, for example, arrived in Salt Lake Valley in 1847 and within a year had
created an irrigation system covering 5,000 acres. But lobbying by western
interests, such as the railroads, paid off with the Reclamation Act of 1902,
which launched massive federal dam building. From the beginning, projects were
chosen based on politics, not because they made sense on a cost–benefit basis.
Despite
Reclamation's huge investments to increase supply, the western United States is
in the midst of a serious water crisis today. Groundwater levels are falling
and surface sources of water are tapped out. Major river systems in the west have
been engineered by federal and state water infrastructure to maximize water
consumption. But the drought of recent years has exposed longstanding failures
in government policies.
The
underlying problems of western water stem from misguided policies on water
prices and water transfers. Governments have kept prices artificially low for
so long that they have encouraged water use in low-value activities. Water
subsidies combined with federal farm subsidies have encouraged inefficient
agricultural production.
Restrictions
on water transfers between users add to the problems. Surface water in the
western states is generally allocated by government rules, not by markets.
Farmers who receive Reclamation water often do not have the option to resell
it, so it gets locked into low-value uses. Water shortages are often caused by
restrictions on transfers, not overall supply problems. The solution is to end
the subsidies and liberalize rules on transfers so that water prices reflect
market supply and demand. That would promote efficiency and benefit the
environment.
Water
policy issues are hugely contentious in the western states. In the long run,
they cannot be solved in Washington, nor should they be. Water policy should be
handled by the states, which should control their own water infrastructure.
Congress should transfer water infrastructure to state and local governments,
who in turn should consider privatizing it. The single largest Reclamation
project is the Central Valley Project; its huge facilities are all located in
California and should be transferred to that state.
In
the 1990s, efforts were made to devolve Reclamation facilities. Under its
"reinventing government" initiative, the Clinton administration sold
federal water projects to local irrigation districts. About 19 Reclamation
projects were transferred to nonfederal owners. Experience has shown that
local control of water infrastructure increases efficiency as a result of lower
labor costs, less paperwork, and faster decision making.
Congress
should privatize the 76 hydropower plants owned by Reclamation. That reform
should be combined with privatizing the PMAs that transmit the power produced
in
Reclamation
dams.
In
a 2015 book, former commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation Daniel Beard
describes how the agency "destroyed hundreds of miles of free-flowing
rivers, promoted excessive water use, and sent billions of dollars in subsidies
to a small number of people." With decades of expertise on water
issues under his belt, Beard called for abolishing the Bureau of Reclamation,
and Congress should heed his advice.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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