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Reclamation’s History in the Colorado Basin Sunrise over the Colorado River.
T
he Colorado River is the lifeblood of the Southwest. From the Front Range of the Rockies in Colorado to the metropolises of Southern California, it is Colorado River water that supplies agricultural and residential needs. It is only thanks to the work of the Bureau of Reclamation, however, that this water gets to where it needs to go. Over the last century and more, Reclamation facilities have captured, stored, and delivered the flows of the Colorado, enabling the development of cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix where once there was only desert. In this interview, Reclamation historian Dr. Andrew Gahan tells Hydro Leader about the history behind Reclamation’s development of the Colorado River basin.
Andrew Gahan: I grew up in Southern California. I began my academic journey somewhat later in life. Prior to becoming a historian, I worked as a pipefitter-welder at two of Chevron Oil’s West Coast refineries. I eventually received my PhD from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), where my fields of study were 20th century U.S. history, U.S. cultural history, and public history. All
22 | HYDRO LEADER | November/December 2020
Hydro Leader: Please tell us about the importance of the Colorado River to the Southwest. Andrew Gahan: The Colorado River wasn’t prominent in public awareness until John Wesley Powell made his epic journey down the river in 1869. Until then, most people looked at the surrounding region as a blank spot on the map of the United States. The West was still sparsely settled, but as its population grew, agriculture became an important component of state and territorial economic growth, and interest in developing the river’s resources increased. Unfortunately, along most of the Colorado River, the topography made reaching those resources difficult, if not practically impossible. The Colorado River is moderately sized compared to some of the other rivers in the United hydroleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION.
Hydro Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
those focused heavily on the history of the American West. I began my career with Reclamation as an intern during my undergraduate years at UNR. My principal responsibilities were researching and writing a two-volume set of Reclamation history, of the second volume of which I was the primary author. It was that work that eventually got me to Denver and into the position I currently hold.
