Arizona State University

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Colorado River/Central Arizona Project Records Collection

The Records of the Central Arizona and Boulder Canyon Project is comprised of selections from the Carl T. Hayden Papers and other sources. As Arizona Congressman from 1911-1970, Hayden influenced natural resource development, water reclamation, and land-use management, culminating in 1968 with the Central Arizona Project (CAP) to transport Colorado River water to Phoenix and Tucson via a series of aqueducts.

Brigham Young University

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Central Utah Project Records

The Central Utah Project, planned and constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation, is the most significant water resource development program in the state. The Project enables Utah to use most of her share of Colorado River water. The collection includes information about the Colorado River and its tributaries as well as documentation relative to the Center Utah Project, including annual reports, news reports, and other material dating from 1964.

Wallace Foster Bennett Papers

During his tenure in the United States Senate (1951 – 1974), Wallace Foster Bennett was deeply involved in water issues in the West and helped pass legislation for the creation of the Central Utah Project. The Bennett Papers reveal his concern for the conservation and proper use of natural resources. Senator Bennett played a key role in approval of the Upper Colorado River Act, in addition to the passage of the Small Reclamation Projects Act, the Watershed Act of 1954, and the Dixie Reclamation Project.

Arthur V. Watkins Papers

Arthur V. Watkins was elected to the United States Senate in November 1946 and represented the state of Utah until 1959. Between 1954 and 1957, Watkins sponsored legislation supporting the Upper Colorado River Storage Project. The project included the construction of many reservoirs for water storage and conservation. These smaller projects helped bring more water to Utah, benefiting agriculture by providing a reliable source of irrigation water and protecting them against potential droughts. The Arthur V. Watkins Papers include notes, correspondence and reports that shed light on his work in shaping water policy as a United States Senator.

The California Institute of Technology

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W. M. Keck Laboratory of Hydraulics and Water Resources

Caltech Library System manages CaltechKHR, a repository of technical reports, on behalf of the W. M. Keck Laboratory of Hydraulics and Water Resources at Caltech. More information is available in the Policy Documents.

The Claremont Colleges:

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California Water Documents

A Claremont Colleges Digital Library collection, consists primarily of bulletins of the California Department of Water Resources and its predecessor agencies. These bulletins present findings from hundreds of investigations conducted throughout the years from one end of the State to the other. Topics represented in this collection include: water quality, flood control, water distribution, water conservation, water usage, and drought as well as some geology. The collection also contains materials pertaining to the creation and operation of the Central Valley Project, the California State Water Project, and their component units.

Colorado State University:

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Agricultural Water Conservation Clearinghouse (AWCC)

The AWCC is a comprehensive information resource system with a central focus on agricultural water management and conservation. The AWCC Library currently contains over 6,500 bibliographic entries that encompass multiple subject areas including irrigation systems, agricultural water conservation policy, cropping systems, drought tolerance, water supply and storage, and more. Grey literature that is accessible through the Colorado State University Libraries digital repository, Digital Collections of Colorado, is topic specific and includes conference proceedings, government documents, white papers, and reports.

Papers of Delph E. Carpenter and Family

Delph E. Carpenter (1877-1951), a lawyer from Greeley, Colorado, forever changed water law in the West.  He wrote, negotiated and promoted the Colorado River Compact, among others, following his service as lead counsel in the Wyoming vs. Colorado suit.  A second compact, the Upper Colorado River compact, was negotiated in 1948.  The Colorado River compacts are interstate agreements that divided the waters of the Colorado among all the states in the Colorado River Basin.  The compacts are approved by Congress and have the effect of law; however there is no standard legislative history because they are negotiated directly by the states.  The collection documents these and other professional activities (including cattle breeding), as well as Carpenter's personal life and family. Materials include correspondence, photographs, maps, minutes, and drafts that will help researchers explore the development of the compact and water law in the West.

Papers of Robert E. Glover

Robert E. Glover (1896-1984), a civil engineer from Ord, Nebraska, began his life-long career as an engineer in the Denver office of the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1924.  Contained within the collection are reports, correspondence, diaries, publications, and calculations documenting work on the Boulder (Hoover) Dam, the Owyhee Dam, and the Glen Canyon Dam.  He conducted significant research on concrete cooling, dam construction, groundwater flow, cracks in dams, and more. A smaller portion of the collection reflects Glover's personal life in terms of family activities and hobbies, including birding, photography, and environmentalism.

Ival V. Goslin Water Resources Collection

For over 50 years, Ival V. Goslin (1911-1991) worked in water resources. The bulk of the collection contains records from the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority where Goslin served as the first Executive Director and later as a consultant. The Authority (est. 1981) has conducted water project feasibility studies and created and implemented financing programs for water and wastewater infrastructures. The collection includes considerable basic engineering, environmental, hydrologic, and economic data surrounding water planning in the 1980s. Records from Goslin's career at the Upper Colorado River Commission and Western Engineers, Inc. are also included. While serving as the director of the Upper Colorado River Basin, Goslin was instrumental in obtaining Congressional funding and approval for many large Western Reclamation projects.  Common subjects are the filling of Lake Powell and the effects on Rainbow Bridge National Monument, and the recreational use of Jerry Creek Reservoirs. Materials include correspondence, newsletters, reports, legislative drafts, news clippings, speeches, books, pamphlets, slides, photographs, videos, and artifacts.

Papers of James L. Ogilvie

James L. Ogilvie (1911-1995), a civil engineer from Weld County, Colorado, had a long and fruitful career with the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation in the field of irrigation and water management.  Ogilvie worked his way up through the Bureau on many projects throughout Colorado, culminating in his appointment as Project Manager for the Fryingpan-Arkansas project in southeast Colorado.  The collection contains professional files related to Ogilvie’s career as well as desk diaries, which provide insight into the Bureau’s work at the time.

Colorado Water Congress Newsletters

The Colorado Water Congress was established in 1958 and since then has proved to be a forward-thinking organization in terms of lobbying and educating in relation to current water issues in the state.  Their newsletter, published as Colorado Water Congress Newsletter (1958-1982) and Colorado Water Rights (1982-2007), has been the main mode of conveying various perspectives on significant water policy issues and covers the Colorado River and other basins.  The publication, taken as a whole, shows trends, successes and failure for Colorado’s water resources for a crucial period in the state’s history. 

Papers of the National Water Resources Association

Formerly the National Reclamation Association, the National Water Resources Association is a federation of water users in seventeen western states whose mission is to advocate federal policies and legislation for water resources on behalf of its members.  The collection highlights the changing views and tactics of reclamation leaders over crucial years in the history of reclamation, starting in the 1930s and going through the 1970s.  It includes speeches, reports, photographs, correspondence and memoranda.

Humboldt State University

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Find papers from Humboldt State University's Institutional Repository. The Humboldt Bay Community contains collections of materials relating to all aspects of the Humboldt Bay ecosystem.

Northern State University

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The Harriet Montgomery Water Resources Collection

The Harriet Montgomery Water Resources Collection contains items pertaining to water resources in the Missouri River Basin, mostly in South Dakota. T he collection is focused on the controversy surrounding efforts to irrigate crops using water from Lake Oahe and includes photographs, newspaper clippings, brochures, maps, correspondence and government reports.

Oregon Institute of Technology

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Klamath Waters Digital Library

Klamath Waters Digital Library, an online resource dedicated to providing comprehensive access to information on water issues of the Klamath Watershed. The digital library encompasses a collection of full-text documents, reports, articles, photographs and maps from the 1800’s to the present as well as many special collections.

Crater Lake Digital Research Collection

The Crater Lake Digital Research Collection is a collaborative project between the Oregon Institute of Technology Library and Crater Lake National Park. It is a research collection of park-related scientific and historical/cultural materials for use by researchers, educators and others.

Oregon State University

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Rising Flood Waters: 1964 Corvallis

The "1964 Corvallis Flood" features 59 oblique aerial photographs flown by Western Ways, Inc. on Dec. 23, 1964. These images were taken when the Willamette River stood at 23' and document the extensive flooding in the Corvallis, Oregon area.

Pacific Northwest Stream Survey Photograph Collection

An archival collection of photographs taken 1934-1945 also contains an interactive map to view the rivers, counties, and hydrologic unites with the basin. The photographic survey covered 6200 kilometer of more than 390 streams comprising the Columbia River Basin and is one of the earliest and most complete quantitative documentation of fish habitat in the Pacific Northwest.

Water and Watersheds Initiative

This collection includes the seminar series publications, published research reports, special reports, and Tualatin River Basin reports published by the Center for Water and Environmental Sustainability (CWESt) which operated from 2000-2005 and the Oregon Water Resources Research Institute (OWRRI) which operated from 1960-2000.

ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University

Search information from Oregon State's Institutional Repository, including papers from The Oregon Water Conference and the Water Resources Research Institute. Notable collections include:

Marine Resource Management  

Marine Resource Management is a science-based, interdisciplinary Master's program at Oregon State University based in the College of Earth, Oceanic, and Atmosphere Sciences (CEOAS). A partnership from more than 40 faculty from CEOAS, Fisheries and Wildlife, Geosciences, Agricultural and Resource Economics, Bioresource Engineering, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Sea Grant extension specialist, scientists, and management professional from state and federal agencies, the collection covers areas in climate change, coastal processes, and hazards, fisheries management, marine pollution and water quality, marine conservation, and marine education and engagement.

Oregon Estuaries

A collection of Oregon’s estuaries and ecosystems for scientific study. The collection provides information on the Alsea Basin, Netarts Bay, Salmon River, Umpqua Basin, and Yaquina Bay and covers areas surrounding Oregon’s fisheries, wetland conservation, water pollution, water quality, water resources development, water supply, water temperature and some historic government documents.

Water Resources Graduate Program

A collection of theses and dissertations and Master’s project papers from Oregon State University Water Resources Graduate program. The collection provides research information in the areas of water resources engineering, water resources science, and water resources policy and management.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

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OpenSIUC is an institutional repository offering permanent, reliable, and free access to research and scholarly material produced at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The collections harvested into WWDL from Open SIUC include publications and reports from the Fisheries and Illinois Aquaculture Center, conference proceedings from the Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR), and articles from the Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education.

Southern Methodist University

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Edward C. Fritz Papers

The Edward C. Fritz papers, 1950s-2008 digital collection contains 361 documents and photographs that record the 1970s debate over the canalization of the Trinity River in Dallas, one of the many environmental causes for which Edward C. "Ned" Fritz (1916-2008) campaigned. Fritz was a Dallas-based lawyer whose dynamic environmental activism earned him the title, "father of Texas conservation". This digital collection highlights a variety of items associated with the sequence of events surrounding the Trinity River Project debate. The items span the period from 1966, when Fritz was serving on the steering committee of the Texas Committee for a Balanced Water Plan, to 1979, when the Army Corps of Engineers' report deemed the canal economically non-viable. The collection includes community organization newsletters, campaign material, photographs, slides, maps, legal documents, reports, press releases, government documents, and political advertisements. A finding aid is available for Ned Fritz's papers, which are held at SMU's DeGolyer Library.

Texas A&M University

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The Texas Water Resources Institute

The Texas Water Resources Institute, a unit of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Texas Cooperative Extension, and member of the National Institutes for Water Resources, provides leadership to stimulate priority research and Extension educational programs in water resources within the Texas A&M University System and throughout Texas.

University of Arizona

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Native American Water Rights in Arizona

This collection of federal government documents pertains to the water rights of Navajo, Hopi, and Pima tribes in Arizona. Documents are arranged by tribe. Items are listed chronologically within each grouping.

Stewart L. Udall Papers on the Mexican Water Treaty and the Colorado River

Stewart Lee Udall served in the House of Representatives from 1955-1960 and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1961-1968. The collection is comprised of Udall’s professional and public papers pertaining to the Colorado River and the Mexican Water Treaty.

University of Hawaii at Manoa

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Hawaiian Waters

The goal of the project is to identify, digitize, and enhance access to monographs and reports about water, focusing on publications of the governments of the Hawaiian kingdom (though 1893), republic (1894-1898), as well as the state and counties of Hawaii. These materials will illustrate the competing interests of Native Hawaiians who view water as a gift from the gods that require conservation and preservation by all, and western institutions and businesses that transformed the physical landscape and claimed private ownership over water in Hawaii. Making these formerly scattered and difficult to locate reports more easily available will enhance historical, pollical and cultural research.

Water Resources Research Center & Environmental Center

Hawaii's culture and climate present unique issues and problems of water resource management. Rainfall events in the islands are often intense and short compared to most temperate climates. Hawaiian hydrogeology differs markedly from most other areas. We are almost entirely dependent on groundwater for our drinking water. The islands are closed systems, importing water is not feasible if we overuse or contaminate our aquifers. Our tropical climate permits the usual pollution indicator organisms to grow in the soil, compromising their usefulness for detecting pollution. Our tourism-based economy is dependent upon vigilant stewardship of our nearshore water quality. As a key element of traditional Hawaiian life, water, both fresh and ocean, plays a unique and important cultural role. At WRRC we concentrate on addressing the unique water and wastewater management problems and issues that we in the Pacific face.

University of Houston

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Galveston 1915 Hurricane Photographs

These 124 photographs capture the devastation wrought by the hurricane that hit Galveston Island on August 17, 1915. The collection features black-and-white and sepia-toned images of destroyed buildings, streets, railroads, causeway, and beachfront, taken by Rex Dunbar Frazier in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

Frazier, a representative of Stone & Webster Engineering, was called in to collect storm damage data and document the scene. Most of the photographs date from August 18, 1915, although many are undated. Some later photographs show repairs underway a month or two later. The photos were removed from a scrapbook for preservation purposes, but the text from the original captions has been retained.

The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is well known for having killed over 10,000 people on the island, but less well known is the fact that in 1915, Galveston was again hit by a devastating hurricane. This one caused $50 million worth of property damage, yet resulted in only 275 deaths. The low loss of life has been attributed to the protection offered by the seawall, which was constructed following the 1900 hurricane.

Some information for this description was drawn from the Handbook of Texas Online. The original materials are available in UH Libraries Special Collections.

University of Idaho

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Columbia River Basin Project - Dam Construction in the Pacific Northwest

Digitized photographs pertaining to the Columbia Basin Project. Special emphasis is placed on the construction of Grand Coulee Dam, the canal systems of Central Washington, and numerous other dams in the Inland Northwest.

Dworshak Dam Collection

Digitized photographs and documents pertaining to the planning, development and construction of the Dworshak Dam, featuring documents and photographs detailing both the legislative and physical development of the dam.

Idaho Waters Digital Library

provides access to information resources relating to water issues in key Idaho river basins. The collection presently includes scientific and technical reports, with an emphasis on Idaho Water Resources Research Institute reports and publications. This centralized digital repository provides a searchable interface for discovery and utilization of water resources documents.

University of Nebraska – Lincoln

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The Platte River Basin in Nebraska

A collection of records about the history of Nebraska’s water, as well as state and federal government technical and economic studies regarding groundwater, hydrology, land use, and watershed management in the Platte River Basin.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Digital Commons

Search documents from The Water Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Water Center operates within the University of Nebraska's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's (UNL) research and agricultural campus. Its mission is to implement and facilitate water and water-related research, teaching, extension and public outreach programming within the University of Nebraska system.

University of Nevada – Las Vegas

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The Historic Landscape of Nevada

The Historic Landscape of Nevada: Development, Water and the Natural Environment documents the historic role of water resource management in Southern Nevada. Since the nineteenth century, when the U.S. government first sent scientific expeditions to explore, map, and record the West, a voluminous record has been made of this landscape and the potential to exploit (and sometimes protect) it. Whether through irrigation, ranching, agriculture, dams, railroads, highways, towns, cities, or federal installations, the people of Nevada have challenged the environment in their attempt to make a desert flourish.

Hoover Dam Collection

The Hoover Dam Collection is comprised of photographs and documentary videos about the construction of Hoover Dam in the early 1930s. The photos include Franklin Roosevelt’s visit and documentation of the living environment of the workers. Also included are the Bureau of Reclamation’s documentary, “Conquering the Colorado “, and recorded interviews by Dennis McBride documenting workers’ experiences during the construction of the dam.

Las Vegas: Water in the West

The collection documents the history of water and Las Vegas. It includes U.S. military and scientific surveys conducted to map a route for the transcontinental railroad, records which explore the feasibility of irrigating the desert for agriculture, as well as records regarding the planning and construction of the Hoover Dam.

Southern Nevada and Las Vegas History in Maps

The maps selected for this digital project document the cartographic history and context of this region. Examples of water-related maps include: the municipal water system of Las Vegas, the Boulder Canyon project, surveys of John Fremont, and the Southern Nevada Water Project.

UNLV Digital Commons Water Resources

One of the objectives of the digital project was to provide a digital repository for published technical and scientific reports related to geology, water supply, and water quality in the Las Vegas Valley. Although the collection of reports is not comprehensive, it does make available online as many of the most critical studies related to water in Southern Nevada. We hope to continue adding to this digital repository, which is maintained in the Library’s Digital Commons.

These publications include ground-water resource and supply bulletins and papers published by the USGS, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, The Nevada State Engineer and the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; reports sponsored by the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Clark County Sanitation District; and scientific studies conducted and published by the UNLV Lake Mead Limnological Research Center and the University of Nevada Desert Research Institute. There are also socioeconomic and biological impact studies conducted for the Bureau of Reclamation on the Southern Nevada Water Project.

University of New Mexico

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New Mexico Waters

New Mexico Waters contains historical source material about rivers, irrigation, ecology, and the economic impact of water resources on communities in New Mexico, primarily along the Rio Grande. The material is from the collections of the Center for Southwest Research and the Map and Geographic Information Center, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.

LoboVault

Find information in the University of New Mexico's Institutional Repository. Theses on water issues are included, as well as Colorado River Basin studies.

University of Oregon

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Columbia River Basin in Oregon Collection

A collection of government documents, books, articles from Scientific American, Harper’s Bazaar and Sunset, 1939 aerial photographs of the Bonneville Dam, maps of the Columbia River Basin, and poems.

University of the Pacific

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John Muir Papers

Muir was instrumental in the establishment of Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand Canyon, and Mt. Rainier. Approximately 75% of the extant papers of Muir are housed at the University of the Pacific, Holt-Atherton Special Collections department.

University of Texas

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The Center for Research in Water Resources (CRWR) is a research component of the Bureau of Engineering Research at The University of Texas at Austin. CRWR carries out advanced research, education, design, and planning in water resources and waste management, primarily related to Texas but also involving other areas of the country as well as foreign countries. The collection includes information from a variety of surveys, reports, and technical data.

University of Utah

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Arizona vs. California Legal Records

The 25 volumes of exhibits presented by the States of Arizona and California before the U.S. Supreme Court during the long-running Arizona v. California case. Volume 26 is an index to the exhibits. Volumes 27, 28, and 29 are additional exhibits contributed by the States of Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. Also included in this collection are the 1960 Special Masters Report and Offer of Proof and Brief in Support of Offer.

John S. Boyden Papers

The John S. Boyden papers (1929-1980) contain correspondence, biographical information, and documents relating to his dealings with Native American issues, Utah water issues, and politics. He was an attorney in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Stephen G. Boyden Papers

The Stephen G. Boyden papers (1945-1988) contain correspondence, legal files, articles, reports, studies, legislative material, pamphlets, newsletters, and news clippings pertaining to Boyden's career as legal council for various western Native American Indian tribes. Boyden received his J.D. degree from the University of Utah in 1967 and has been affiliated with various groups dealing with Indian law and tribal representation for most of his life.

C. Gregory Crampton Papers

The C. Gregory Crampton papers (1938-1979) contain research materials on western history. Included are financial records from the American West Publishing Company, maps, research on the Zuni and Ute Indians, correspondence, clippings, bibliographies and catalogs, pamphlets and publications. Also included are twenty oral history transcripts of interviews conducted by students in History593 at the University of Utah. C. Gregory Crampton (1911-1995) was professor emeritus of history at the University of Utah and an author of works on the history of Utah and the West

Exploration of the Colorado River of the West

The complete text of Exploration of the Colorado River of the West its Tributaries by John Wesley Powell.  The report was published by the Smithsonian in 0975 and records the expedition made by Powell.

Galloway-Stone River Expedition 1909

This collection documents a three-month river expedition of Nathanial Galloway, Julius Stone, and Raymond Cogswell. The expedition is generally considered to be the first river trip undertaken purely for pleasure. The collection consists of diaries, photographs, and a short history.

E. Richard Hart Papers

The E. Richard Hart papers (1664-2008) contain correspondence, research files, manuscripts, news clippings, maps, publications, court exhibits, and financial documents. Hart is an author, researcher, and past director of the Institute of the American West at Sun Valley, Idaho (1979-1984). He is the co-founder of the Institute of the North American West (1984). He has also served as an expert witness in several federal court cases involving land claims by the Zuni Indians.

Dorothy Harvey Papers

The Dorothy Harvey papers (1902-2005) is a collection of materials focusing on the Central Utah Project (CUP), a water resource development program to use Utah's allotted share of the Colorado River. Includes correspondence, Harvey's writing drafts and notes for an unpublished book on the CUP, federal documents, project litigation materials, subject files, news clippings, newsletters, programs, brochures, and maps.

Hidden Water

Hidden Water unveils surface water systems on the east side of Salt Lake Valley, both culinary and irrigation. The web site follows the seven major streams of the Wasatch Front, plus minor ones, and tracks that water from headwaters to the Jordan River and then Great Salt Lake. It intermixes contemporary photographs with historical photographs from several archives showing earlier uses and diversions of water. The web site documents how stakeholders utilize the water with treatment plants, hydropower plants and irrigation ditches. In turn, these public, recreational and commercial uses flow from water rights dating back to territorial days.

Floyd A. O'Neil Papers

The Floyd A. O'Neil papers (1884-2006) contain documents from the American West Center, Western Folklife Center, Indian Self Rule Conference, and the Institute of the North American West. Included are oral histories, research files, and both published and unpublished documents related to O'Neil's position as a history professor at the University of Utah, co-chair of the Western Folklife Center, and director of the American West Center.

Colorado Riverbed Case Records

The Colorado Riverbed Case records (1920-1931) consist of microfilm and microfilm printouts from this court case which determined who legally owned the riverbed of the Colorado River.

Glen Canyon Archaeological Survey Photograph Collection

The Glen Canyon Archaeological Survey collection contains photographs of excavations, artifacts, and cliff dwellings taken during an archaeological survey of Glen Canyon prior to its flooding. The survey was headed by Jesse Jennings of the University of Utah Department of Anthropology. Included are photographs of some of the members of the survey party.

Charles Eggert Photograph Collection

The Charles Eggert collection consists of slides documenting the Eggert-Hatch Filming Expedition, the purpose of which was the make the last films of the Green and Colorado Rivers before construction of the Colorado River Storage Project was begun in 1956.  The collection also includes photos taken during the creation of Canyonlands National Park in Utah.  Eggert was a photographer and independent filmmaker from New York.

Flaming Gorge Dam Photograph Collection

The Flaming Gorge Dam collection consists of black and white prints of photographs taken by the US Bureau of Reclamation during the construction of Flaming Gorge Dam on the Green River.

Soaking the Desert: the Story of Water in Utah

Contributed by KUER at the University of Utah:
KUER reporters set to find out whether Utah truly needs the Bear River Dam, or whether conservation could be the answer. What they found was another story entirely…the story of a water system bloated with inefficiency and water, that unnecessarily cost taxpayers millions of dollars and forces them to pay for the water use of everyone else on the system. This video collection is a story that you will hear in a three-part series.

Water is for Fightin’

In Utah and other parts of the West, life revolves around water. Land use decisions, land development, law politics, and economic growth have all been shaped by water or the lack thereof. As demand for land and water increases, Westerners must not only be able to determine and protect rights to water, but also preserve the sanctity of their rivers, lakes, and streams.

University of Washington

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Cloud Seeding Documents

A collection of publications about the effects of cloud seeding, weather modifications, and related information regarding the Columbia River Basin.

John N. Cobb Photo Collection

Three hundred and forty images ca. 1897-1917 of salmon and other local fisheries, whaling activities, clamming and oystering industries along the Pacific Coast and Alaska.

Grand Coulee Dam

Photographs and pamphlets of the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam built during 1933 to 1942 as part of the Columbia River Basin Irrigation Project for the development of waterpower, irrigation, and flood control. Also included are recommendations for and against building the dame, images of land clearing activities by the Public Works Administration, and the dam construction itself.

Seattle Power and Water Supply Collection

Historical photographs and pamphlets documenting the construction of hydroelectric power and water supply facilities built in Washington State from the late 1890s to the 1950s, including Snoqualmie Falls Power Plant, the Electron Plant, the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, and the Cedar River water supply system.

Utah State University

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Bear River Watershed Historical Collection

The Bear River Watershed’s geography, history, and development are the primary focus of this collection of images, maps, papers, and reports. Funded by grants from the Utah State University Water Initiative, this project digitizes selected materials cited in the Bear River Watershed Historical Bibliography, including photographs of the Bear River from the 1860s to the 1990s, manuscripts and records of local irrigation companies, research on the societal impact of reclamation development in the Bear River Basin, and the papers of Utah Governor George Dewey Clyde, who as a former USU Engineering Dean collected documentation on Bear River water conditions as far back as the 1920s. Originals are housed in Utah State University Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives.

Digital Commons @ USU

DigitalCommons@USU provides open access to scholarly works, research, reports, publications, and journals produced by Utah State University faculty, staff, students, and others. Coordinated by the Merrill-Cazier Library, USU's digital repository joins other universities worldwide in the ongoing development of new knowledge.

Water-related resources from DigitalCommons@USU includes Watershed Sciences faculty publications and theses and dissertations, and Utah Water Research Laboratory papers and reports.

Washington State University

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Frank A. Banks Collection

The Frank A. Banks collection housed at the Washington State University Libraries Manuscript, Archives, and Special Collections Department provides a unique analytical and photographic insight into the community, construction, and evolution of the Columbia Basin Project and specifically the Grand Coulee Dam.  As Chief Engineer for the Bureau of Reclamation, Banks’ collected papers provide technical and administrative data as well as a wealth of photographs taken throughout the duration of the Columbia Basin Project.   The Banks collection includes nine volumes of his unpublished History of Columbia Basin Project, compiled by Banks and his staff from 1933-1941, as well as a substantial amount of ephemera (primarily newsletters and pamphlets) related to the dam. The collection also includes materials related to larger questions about reclamation and development, some expressing opposition to federal government regulatory powers and others expressing concerns over environmental and economic

Early Washington Maps

The collection includes an historical timeline of events leading to the formation of Washington State and topographic quadrangles from the U.S. Geological Survey date from the late 1800 to the early 1900s.

Government Reports on the Columbia River

State and federal documents, reports, and surveys regarding irrigation, dams, and water in Washington state during the 20th century.

Clifford R. Koester Collection

The Clifford R. Koester collection housed at the Washington State University Libraries Manuscript, Archives, and Special Collections Department provides a unique, and sometimes overlooked, insight into the community, construction, and evolution of the Columbia Basin Project and specifically the Grand Coulee Dam.  As a long-time member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and a resident of the town of Coulee Dam (WA), Clifford Koester emphasized the workers’ experience in his photograph and project history.  In Koester’s A History of the Columbia Basin Project, he focused on the contributions of laborers to this monumental project. In the dedication, he observed that "the ability and achievements of the planners and engineers have often been extolled elsewhere. I wish to speak now of the craftsmen and common workmen who toiled here, and gave a part of their lives to further this great work…" Koester’s collection includes a reproduction of his unpublished three volume history focused on the laborers and their project, as well as a number of newsletters from several organizations active at the Dam site.

Water Resources Center Archives, UC Riverside

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Frank Adams Papers, 1889-1962

The Adams Papers document the distinguished career and professional activities of Frank Adams (1875-1967), including reports, reprints, correspondence, clippings, and notes, concerning water, irrigation, and land settlement projects in California, the Western States, and Palestine; drafts of legislation pertaining to water, water rights, and irrigation districts; minutes of meetings of various sections of the Commonwealth Club of California; historical and statistical data on California irrigation districts; and, extensive information on University of California Irrigation Investigations in California. Frank Adams was a celebrated professor of irrigation and international consultant on agriculture, who was key to the development, distribution, and use of water in the West.

John S. Eastwood Papers, 1884-1979 (bulk 1903-1924)

John Eastwood (1857-1924) developed the multiple arch dam and designed numerous dams that were constructed in the western United States. The collection includes correspondence, reports, designs, specifications, and photographs, relating to dams, dam sites, and hydroelectric power plants in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, British Columbia, and Mexico.

Walter L. Huber Photograph Collection, 1911-1953

The Walter L. Huber Photograph Collection contains 1,500 photographs of dams, reservoirs, and other water-related structures taken by Walter L. Huber (1883-1960). His long and varied career as engineer included hydroelectric and hydraulic assignments and projects, such as: assistant to John Debo Galloway, Galloway & Markwardt Engineering Firm, 1905-1908; U.S. Forest Service, 1910-1913; the California State Department of Public Works, many projects including San Gabriel Dam No. 1 and Central Valley Project; construction engineer for the California Debris Commission on arch dams; member of the board of construction engineers of the U.S. War Department on flood control projects on the Los Angeles, San Gabriel and Santa Ana Rivers including Prado, Sepulveda, Brea, Fullerton, Santa Fe and Whittier Narrows Dams, and in Central Valley, Isabella, Pine Flat and Iron Canyon Dams; construction engineer for the City of San Francisco on Cherry Valley Dam; regional water consultant, National Resources Planning Board; and special consultant on earthquake resistant design of dams. (This collection of images supplements the Walter L. Huber Papers collection, held at the Water Resources Center Archives, University of California.)

Edward Hyatt Papers, 1924-1949

This collection includes articles, addresses by Edward Hyatt (1888-1954), and clippings, pertaining to dams, water rights, salt water intrusion, hydroelectric power, the California Water Plan, and other aspects of water in California. Hyatt began his thirty-five year career in the service of his native state as an engineer for the California Highway Commission. In 1916 he transferred to the State Water Commission, an agency created to administer state laws pertaining to water rights. In 1921 the State Water Commission became part of the Division of Water Rights of the State Department of Public Works; Mr. Hyatt was appointed deputy chief and then chief of that division. In 1927 he was appointed State Engineer of California. Mr. Hyatt directed surveys which led to the development of the State Water Plan, the basis for the water conservation program in California, and of the Central Valley Project.

Charles H. Lee Papers (bulk 1912-1955)

Charles Hamilton Lee (1883-1967) began his career as a hydrographer for the U.S. Geological Survey but resigned in 1906 to become assistant engineer for the city of Los Angeles. From 1906-1911, he was involved in design and construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. During this period his report on the groundwater basin of the Independence region of the Owens Valley was published as U.S.G.S. Water Supply Paper 294. Lee was a consulting engineer on numerous projects and he established the Pacific Hydrologic Laboratory, the first soils engineering laboratory on the West Coast. He consulted on the fill project which built Treasure Island, and from 1936-1939 he was chief of Water Supply and Sanitation for the Golden Gate Exposition. The collection contains reports, correspondence, documents, maps, photographs, clippings, etc., pertaining to projects in hydraulics, sanitation, irrigation, municipal water supply, surface water and groundwater hydrology, and soil in California and other Western states, particularly for the City of Los Angeles regarding water supply from the Owens Valley. (This collection is supplemented by the Charles H. Lee Photograph Collection, held at the Water Resources Center Archives, University of California.)

Joseph Barlow Lippincott Papers, 1882-1942

The J.B. Lippincott collection contains correspondence, reports, documents, clippings, and several descriptive photo albums (more than 5,000 photographs) pertaining to projects on dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, and other water supply works, ground water and streamflow in California, in particular for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and in Arizona and other Western States. Mr. Lippincott (1882-1942) was a topographer for the USGS in the late 1890s and became the assistant engineer for the Bear Valley Irrigation Company on the construction of an early irrigation project on the Santa Ana River. With the organization of the U.S. Reclamation Service in 1902, Lippincott became supervising engineer of all Reclamation Service activities in the Pacific Coast region from the Klamath River in Oregon to the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California. In July 1906, Mr. Lippincott left the Reclamation Service to become assistant chief engineer of the Owens River Aqueduct.

Thomas H. Means Papers (bulk 1905-1958)

Thomas Means' early career included nine years in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Soils, during which time he was in charge of soil surveys, principally in the western states. He served six years in the Bureau of Reclamation in land examination and farm unit subdivision and was in charge of a laboratory for the study of the silt-carrying capacities of western streams. In 1910, Means went into private practice in San Francisco, specializing in engineering connected with agriculture, irrigation, drainage, reclamation and water supply. He worked on the Central Valley Project and the Hetch Hetchy project, and played a key role in court battles that led to water rights. The collection includes correspondence and reports concerning the Colorado River and flooding in the Imperial Valley, the Hetch Hetchy Project, Los Angeles water supply, the Southern Sierra Power Company, the salinity of San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, flood control and irrigation projects, groundwater, and land appraisal throughout California and other western states.

Milton N. Nathanson Papers, 1855-1995 (bulk 1965-1985)

The Milton N. Nathanson Papers consists of files Nathanson (1910-2000) compiled during his work as an attorney specializing in Colorado River water issues, including his employment at the Department of Interior as Assistant Regional Solicitor and Field Solicitor and as special consultant to the Department of Interior and the Coachella Valley Water District, as well as notes and drafts written by Nathanson while he was authoring the book, Updating the Hoover Dam Documents, and materials related to his involvement in the Colorado River Board of California.

James D. Schuyler Papers (bulk 1886-1912)

The James Dix Schuyler collection consists of unpublished reports, correspondence, and other documents. The reports cover Schuyler's (1848-1912) work as a consulting engineer in the Western U.S., Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Panama, and Puerto Rico. Schuyler was the author of Reservoirs for Irrigation, Water Power, and Domestic Water Supply(John Wiley & Sons, 1901; 2nd edition, 1908), a work on dams, which for many years was a standard work on this subject.

Weber State University

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Utah Construction Hoover Dam Scrapbooks

This scrapbook, donated by H. J. Lawler, documents through photographs the construction of the dam from 1931 to 1935, showcasing UCC's part in its creation. In 1931, Utah joined Six Companies Inc. to raise the surety required to bid for the Boulder (Hoover) Dam contract. One of the world's largest dams, Hoover Dam was completed in 1936 at a cost of $49 million.