01/28/07 Solutions to Bureau of Rec challenges

Bureau of Reclamation commissioner Bob Johnson says there are solutions to the challenges and problems his agency faces in Idaho and throughout the West. JOHNSON "Conservation. There's lots of opportunities for conservation. Urban conservation. Ag conservation. Water reuse and some of these apply better in some parts of the country than others." Johnson says water transfers make sense in a changing West but with one caveat. JOHNSON "We have to protect agriculture and the historic values that we have and the needs that we have for agricultural production in America and in the West. There's ways to do water transfers. One of the other tools that are out there is desalination, a real win-win solution for some of these urban areas. And the cost of desal is not out to the reach of these urban areas. The cost has come down. It has been cut in half over the last 50 years. And then finally, the one that is on everybody's mind is infrastructure. New infrastructure will make sense in some parts of the country." Johnson told the Idaho Water Users convention that the Bureau of Reclamation will be able to deliver adequate agricultural water to the West this year through its various projects. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott