Agricultural Use of Federally Supplied Irrigation Water, 1979-86

摘要

The Bureau of Reclamation (BuRec) has been instrumental in developing the western river basins for irrigation water supplies and other purposes. In the last decade, the BuRec has not initiated any new water development projects, opting instead to complete and manage existing projects. Although little water development occurred during this period, two significant trends emerged: cropping patterns on land irrigated using BuRec water are shifting to higher valued specialty crops and away from USDA-supported program crops, and BuRec water deliveries to municipal and industrial uses have gradually increased while deliveries to farms have declined.