History of Drainage in the Bureau of Reclamation

In the early days of the Reclamation Service, the criteria for irrigability of lands generally consisted of two elements: (1) is water available? and (2) can we get the water to the land? Within a few years, many of the early projects were experiencing reduced agricultural productivity and reduced ability to repay construction loans because the soils were becoming waterlogged and saline. By 1915, construction of subsurface drainage facilities had been initiated on several projects. However, at the time, subsurface drainage was more of an art than a science. Much of the world’s experience with agricultural drainage had been gained in humid areas which were quite different from arid areas. With no standards and limited knowledge of ground water movement, these early drainage efforts met with varying degrees of success. This paper summarizes the development of scientific methods to ensure successful application of drainage in a sustainable irrigated agriculture. Reclamation has introduced these methods to solve irrigated drainage problems at the international level. This paper will address the international experience, and how the same design and construction methods and procedures are now being used to design corrective drainage facilities for dams and other major structures and to support environmental enhancement programs.