U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Bay Delta Office Long-Term Operations Facilitation Services

Client: The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Water

The Challenge

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) needed third-party facilitation to coordinate operations among competing interests where technical solutions were insufficient.

The Central Valley Project and the State Water Project move water through watersheds supporting winter- and spring-run Chinook salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, and Delta smelt, all protected under state and federal endangered species law. Operating decisions involve federal and state agencies, water contractors, fishing and environmental interests, and Tribes with differing interests. Decades of litigation over operating plans left a coordination need that technical solutions alone could not meet. The USBR Bay-Delta Office needed an independent third party to convene the parties to share and discuss technical input and science to inform operations.

The project provides the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) with services to provide collaborative efforts that promote trust and sustainable decisions among project partners as part of its Long-term Operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project Proposed Action. Kearns & West supports implementation of Reclamation’s October 2019 Proposed Action primary task areas: 1) Facilitation and documentation of technical teams, 2) Facilitation and program management of collaborative planning teams, and 3) Facilitation and production of seasonal and annual reporting.

Our Role

Kearns & West supports implementation of USBR’s October 2019 Proposed Action primary task areas: facilitation and documentation of technical teams, facilitation and program management of collaborative planning teams, and facilitation and production of seasonal and annual reporting. We provide planning, process design, facilitation, documentation, and coordination of communication to the 11 Watershed and Monitoring Technical Teams which meet for the full water management season. Our facilitators use joint fact-finding, interest-based negotiations, and structured decision-making to support participants to provide their technical input.

Key Contributions:

  • Facilitated parties to develop a shared understanding and inform USBR’s operations.
  • Produced 508 compliant meeting summaries for 166 meetings of seven technical teams.
  • Produced science-sharing webinars, workshops, and conceptual models.
  • Reduced scientific uncertainty to inform water management in the Upper Sacramento River.
  • Coordinated interagency monitoring to meet permitting requirements.

Services Provided:

Outcome & Impact

Greater participation, accountability, and transparency around water management decisions and tradeoffs related to the USBR’s operations reduces the frequency and cost of long-term conflict that has plagued California’s water management institutions for decades.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, California Department of Water Resources, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife

San Joaquin River Restoration Program

Implementing a landmark San Joaquin River settlement involved water, environmental, landowner, community, and government interests in a 150-mile river restoration.