Managing Construction and Infrastructure in the 21st Century Bureau of Reclamation

155 Pages·2006·0.76 MB·English

by  National Research Council, Committee on Organizing to Manage Construction and Infrastructure in the 21st Century Bureau of Reclamation

Managing Construction AND Infrastructure
in the 21st Century Bureau of Reclamation
Committee on Organizing to Manage Construction and Infrastructure in the
21st Century Bureau of Reclamation
Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Gov-
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the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engi-
neering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible
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propriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract Number 04CS811007 between the U.S. De-
partment of the Interior and the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions,
findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or
agencies that provided support for the project.
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Cover photographs from top to bottom: Parker Dam (from U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation); deflector at Tracy fish screen (from San Luis and Delta Mendota
Canal Authority); Flat Iron Power Plant and Pumping Station (from U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation); Provo River restoration (from Utah Reclamation Mitigation and
Conservation Commission); and Boise River Diversion Dam (from U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation).
Copyright 2006 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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COMMITTEE ON ORGANIZING TO MANAGE
CONSTRUCTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE 21ST
CENTURY BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
JAMES K. MITCHELL, Chair, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
University, Blacksburg, Virginia
PATRICK R. ATKINS, Alcoa, New York, New York
ALLAN V. BURMAN, Jefferson Solutions, Washington, D.C.
TIMOTHY J. CONNOLLY, HDR Engineering, Inc., Omaha, Nebraska
LLOYD A. DUSCHA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (retired), Reston,
Virginia
G. BRIAN ESTES, Consulting Engineer, Williamsburg, Virginia
MARTHA S. FELDMAN, University of California, Irvine
DARRELL G. FONTANE, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
SAMMIE D. GUY, Consulting Engineer, Falls Church, Virginia
L. MICHAEL KAAS, Consulting Engineer, Arlington, Virginia
CHARLES I. McGINNIS, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (retired),
Charlottesville, Virginia
ROGER K. PATTERSON, Nebraska Department of Natural Resources
(retired), Lincoln
Staff
LYNDA L. STANLEY, Director, Board on Infrastructure and the
Constructed Environment
MICHAEL D. COHN, Program Officer
DANA CAINES, Financial Associate
PAT WILLIAMS, Senior Project Assistant
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BOARD ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND
THE CONSTRUCTED ENVIRONMENT
HENRY HATCH, Chair, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (retired),
Oakton, Virginia
MASSOUD AMIN, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
REGINALD DesROCHES, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
DENNIS DUNNE, Consultant, Scottsdale, Arizona
PAUL FISETTE, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
LUCIA GARSYS, Hillsborough County, Florida
WILLIAM HANSMIRE, Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas,
Detroit, Michigan
THEODORE C. KENNEDY, BE&K, Inc., Birmingham, Alabama
SUE McNEIL, University of Delaware, Wilmington
DEREK PARKER, Anshen+Allen, San Francisco, California
HENRY SCHWARTZ, JR., Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
WILLIAM WALLACE, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy,
New York
CRAIG ZIMRING, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
Staff
LYNDA STANLEY, Director
MICHAEL D. COHN, Program Officer
KEVIN M. LEWIS, Program Officer
DANA CAINES, Financial Associate
PAT WILLIAMS, Senior Project Assistant
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Preface
The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has a long history of ac-
complishments, and through this study and other efforts is preparing to
continue its successful record of providing water and hydroelectric power
in the western United States. Successful accomplishment of Reclamation’s
current mission in the twenty-first century—to manage, develop, and pro-
tect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically
sound manner in the interest of the American public—is impacted, and in
some cases dominated, by several new realities that are discussed in this
report, including environmental factors, American Indian water rights,
rural water needs, urbanization, increasing budget constraints, a broader
set of stakeholders, an aging workforce, and an aging infrastructure.
The committee was not asked to assess the robustness of Reclamation
in the face of extraordinary events, but the recent disasters caused by the
hurricanes in the Gulf Coast region have brought that question to the at-
tention of the committee. In the short term, the dispersed geography, de-
centralized line organization, and centralized service center of Reclama-
tion should allow it to respond to localized events effectively. Over the
long term, the bureau has exhibited its ability to deal with disasters, as
shown in its response to the failure of Teton Dam in 1976. That event led
to the creation of a robust safety of dams program, risk analysis and de-
sign review procedures, and an active effort to learn from past experi-
ence. The committee also observed active efforts to plan responses to de-
veloping problems caused by persistent drought conditions in the West.
If faced with unexpected catastrophic events, Reclamation can be ex-
pected, in the committee’s opinion, to rise to the challenge.
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viii PREFACE
All the committee members, whose abbreviated biographies are given
in Appendix A, contributed enormously to the successful completion of
the study. They provided diverse expertise and a wealth of knowledge
and experience in relevant disciplines and topics: organizational, construc-
tion, and operational history of the bureau, water resources engineering
and planning, government policies and procedures, large organization
management, human resources issues, and political considerations,
among others. Each member brought a creative and fresh perspective to
the study and participated in the drafting of the report and in the crafting
of the several findings and recommendations. It has been a pleasure and
excellent learning experience working with all of them.
An important element in the committee’s ability to complete its as-
signed tasks was the support and participation of the bureau. The com-
mittee appreciates the cooperation and support of John Keys III, commis-
sioner, the assistance provided throughout the study by Fred Ore, deputy
director of operations, and N. John Harb, manager, and the scores of man-
agers and personnel in the Denver, regional, and area offices who took
time from their busy schedules to brief the committee and candidly dis-
cuss Reclamation’s challenges and opportunities. The committee also ap-
preciates the contributions of Reclamation’s water and power customers
and their representative organizations, which provided a perspective on
the bureau that was critical to the committee’s understanding of the fac-
tors that influence its facility and infrastructure tasks.
The committee was supported and guided in its work by study direc-
tor Michael Cohn, program officer, Board on Infrastructure and the Con-
structed Environment (BICE). Mike’s dedication to the tasks and support
for the committee is a key factor in the success of this study. We are also
greatly indebted to Lynda Stanley, director, BICE, for her insights and
suggestions.
The committee appreciates the opportunity to address an issue of im-
portance to the future success of the Bureau of Reclamation’s mission in
meeting water and hydroelectric power needs in the western United States
in an environmentally sensitive and economical manner.
James K. Mitchell
Chair, Committee on Organizing
to Manage Construction and
Infrastructure in the 21st Century
Bureau of Reclamation
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for
their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with pro-
cedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose
of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments
that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as
possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for
objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review
comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integ-
rity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individu-
als for their review of this report:
John T. Christian, Consulting Engineer,
David W. Fowler, University of Texas at Austin,
Gerald E. Galloway, University of Maryland,
Lawrence J. MacDonnell, Porzak, Browning & Bushong,
Peter Marshall, Burns & Roe Services,
Robert S. O’Neil, Parsons Transportation Group (retired), and
Karlene H. Roberts, University of California, Berkeley.
Although the reviewers listed have provided many constructive com-
ments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or
recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its
release. The review of this report was overseen by Richard N. Wright,
Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards
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