Amid the impact of climate change, preserving our water – one of the world’s most vital resources – has become more important than ever to ensure we can sustain our environment and economies both now and into the future.
For Camille Calimlim Touton, Commissioner at the Bureau of Reclamation, the United States’ largest wholesale water supplier, the essential mission is to safeguard waterways for the future of the American West.
“The decisions that we’re making now will impact decisions well into the future, so we need to get it right,” she tells The CEO Magazine.
“When you’re spearheading a system on which 40 million people rely, failure is not an option.”
Touton was nominated and confirmed as the 24th Commissioner of the century-strong Bureau of Reclamation by the United States’ President and Senate in 2021, marking a significant period of innovation and change.
“In 2021, when we walked in the door of this administration, we were looking at a 20-year drought, with the lowest reservoir levels seen since those reservoirs were originally filled,” she recalls.
“But when you’re spearheading a system on which 40 million people rely, failure is not an option.”
Up to the challenge
Touton and her team have risen to the challenge, actioning innovative developments and upgrades to ensure the future of the region’s waterways.
“Our challenge is to ensure our existing infrastructure, which was built sometimes half a century or a century ago, can withstand those changes,” she explains.
Congress has provided the Bureau of Reclamation with a US$13 billion budget to maintain, plan and innovate for the future.
“My board is the United States Congress and having their buy-in in supporting our path forward is equally important because they’re there on behalf of the American people,” she says.
“What we’re able to do now is improve on our investments and infrastructure to support these communities. It’s humbling to be able to secure the system for now and have the ability to move the conversation forward to what that operation would look like in the future.”
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It’s a momentous challenge, but one Touton and her team are determined to overcome by executing expansive upgrades on existing infrastructure, developing and applying new technologies and improving sustainability.
The Bureau of Reclamation operates 294 reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 17.3 million hectare-meters, provides one in five (140,000) western farmers with irrigation water for 4.05 million farmland hectares and delivers 37.8 trillion liters of water to millions of Americans every year.
In addition, it supports 450,700 jobs and manages 249 recreation sites, with its management and recreation activities alone contributing US$34.1 billion to the nation’s economy.
‘Water change’
The Bureau of Reclamation is also the second-largest producer of hydropower in the United States, operating 53 hydroelectric power plants, which have annually produced, on average, 40 billion kilowatt-hours over the past decade. It has developed state-of-the-art technology to ensure its hydroelectric power plants continue to work optimally.
Additionally, as part of President Biden’s Investing America agenda, the Bureau of Reclamation is examining the implementation of solar panels over canals.
“We have hundreds of thousands of miles of canal along the American West so we’re investigating a proof of concept to put solar panels on canals,” Touton reveals.
“We’re also planning on rolling out innovative tools, such as the Colorado River Basin Exploration tool, which is accessible to anyone to investigate if operations – such as the solar panels over canals concept – will work and determine how it may impact the people who live in these regions.”
“It’s humbling to be able to secure the system for now and have the ability to move the conversation forward to what that operation would look like in the future.”
The Colorado River is one of several major river basins under the Bureau of Reclamation’s jurisdiction and sits on nearly 2.02 million hectares amid some of the most productive farmland in the country. It serves 40 million people and borders the United States and Mexico, with 30 tribal nations calling it home.
“Someone once said that climate change is water change. And so, to meet our mission, we have to be nimble in responding to hydrology. Over the next three years, the Bureau will be prioritizing the conservation of three million acre-feet [370,044 hectare-meters], which is the largest conservation that’s ever been seen on the Colorado River,” she says.
Large-scale water recycling also plays a significant role in the Bureau of Reclamation’s sustainability mission, with its announcement of US$551.4 million in water recycling grants over the past four years.
“One project we’re working on would serve the city of Los Angeles, one of the largest economies in the world. This one project will serve half a million homes in the south-west,” she notes.
A team united
Touton says what makes its teams unique is that its employees and partners call the places they serve home.
“The people that we serve water to and produce power for are our neighbors. Our kids go to school together, and we all worship together. So this isn’t just a professional mission for all of us, it’s also a personal mission,” she says.
“At the Bureau of Reclamation, our people are our first priority, and we recognize the strength of our team, who believe deeply in the mission, so it becomes a collective drive to serve our communities.
“Whether it’s the Colorado River, planning for infrastructure or being able to support my team, it starts inherently with an ability to treat people with respect, being honest, transparent and respectful, and also being able to provide a vision that we can all agree on that serves us into the future.”
“It’s a 5,400-strong team that I have the privilege to lead, and we will ensure that our mission continues on.”
Touton says that some of her favorite places in the world are confluences – where rivers meet.
“When you see the snake in the Colorado River, or where the Columbia River meets in the Pacific Northwest, it’s these disparate, seemingly separate places that eventually find each other. And that’s what the Bureau of Reclamation’s job is – it’s to meet people where they are and find a path forward together,” she explains.
According to Touton, the Bureau supported 7,000 jobs in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.
“Our projects are about not only securing water supply for communities but also establishing job opportunities within the region, which is why these generational investments are important – to ensure vibrant communities continue to be vibrant communities,” she adds.
She also confirms that her role has been the privilege of a lifetime.
“I’m honored to serve my community and to do it with my team is something that I’ll never forget. We just have such pride in what we do. We meet our mission year in and year out, and we will continue to do so,” she says.
“It’s a 5,400-strong team that I have the privilege to lead, and we will ensure that our mission continues on. There’s so much more that we can do together, and I’m really looking forward to that.”
