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DOCUMENT RESUME
04252 - [B3494735]
MBre and Better Uses Could Be Made of Billions of Gallons of
Water by Improving Irrigation Delivery Systems..CED-77-117;
B-114885. September 2, 1977. 28 pp. + 3 appendices (16 pp.).
Peport to the Congress; by Elmer B. Staats, Computer General.
Issue Area: Water and Water Related Programs: later conservation
and reuse programs (2504).
Contact: Community and Economic Development Div.
Budget Function: Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy:
Water Resources and Power (301).
Organizatiai Concerned: Department of Agriculture; Department of
the Interior.
Congressional Relevance: House Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs; Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources;
Congress.
Authority: Reclamation Act of 1902 (43 U.S.C. 391).
Rehabilitation and Betterment Act of 1949, as amended (43
U.S.C. 504). Small Reclamation Projects Acts of 1956, as
amended (43 U.S.C. 422a et seq.'. Distribution System Loans
Act of 1955, as amended (43 U.S.C. 421b).
Agricultural irrigdtion uses 83% of water consumed in
the United States. Large amounts of water transported to farms
are wasted annually because of inefficient delivery systems
which seep water. Findings/Conclusions: The se Iepage problem
exists throughout the West and causes a 1oss of water for
beneficial purposes. Federal projects supply water to on-ly about
one-fifth of the total irrigated western lands and, therefore,
cooperation among State, local and Federal agenciesis necessary
to lessen seepage. In 1975,. tf.s Bureau of Reclamation i. reported a
loss of 2,600 billion gallons of water during delivery,
primarily through seepage. Federal agency progrzamks related to
this problem are not specifically designed or administered to
effectively deal with it. Since the Department of the Interior
accounts for 90% of Federal financial involvement in -projects
involving irrigation, it s.ould take the lead in promoting
better management practices ia this area. A program for improved
water conveyance systems should be designed to: improve the
accuracy of reported seepage data; consider overall basinvide
effects of conveyance system improvements, including more
definitive criteria for selecting the systems to improve; and
identify and resolve institutional and legal constrai ints
hampering improvements to water conveyance systems.-
Recommendations: The Secretary of the Interior should. take the
lead in 4dentifying all aspects of the water c onvsyeynce system
problem and devising a comprehensive action program to improve
system efficiency. The Department should direct the-in-ter'agency
task force which is being established to consider soluti-ons to
inefficient irrigaticn practices tc also consider solutfons to
inefficient conveyance systems, including the development ofV,](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.gao/gaobaacrg0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)