Carly Jerla has recently been appointed as a senior water resources program manager by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in order to coordinate the Department of the Interior's efforts to develop updated operating guidelines for Colorado River reservoirs, according to a press release.
The Interior reportedly created the senior leadership post within the Bureau of Reclamation after identifying numerous issues concerning the Colorado River Basin in March 2021.
"Carly Jerla is the right person for this new position,” Reclamation Deputy Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said in the press release. “Carly has exceptional technical and modeling skills, as well as a thorough understanding of the importance of working with our partners throughout the basin.
Prior to her appointment, Jerla was in charge of a modeling and research team at the University of Colorado's Center for Advanced Decision Support for Water and Environmental Systems (CADSWES). CADSWES is responsible for water operations and planning research and development in the Colorado River Basin.
“Carly Jerla will continue to play a key role in our collaborative approach to updating the Colorado River Basin’s operating rules and developing additional tools and agreements that recognize the needs of nearly 40 million people who rely on the river,” Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Tanya Trujillo stated in the press release.
Jerla's experience with Reclamation includes work in the development of several new policy initiatives and serving as one of the co-leads for the Interior's Technical Review of the effectiveness of the 2007 Interim Guidelines.
"She understands the importance of working together to find solutions – across agencies and across borders," Touton said. "During these times of drought and scarcity, Carly will build trust, build partnerships and find solutions. She brings insight and integrity to her work, and we’re very pleased she will lead our intensive efforts in the months and years ahead.”
Jerla will work closely with the seven Colorado River Basin states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, as well as 29 tribes, water districts, non-governmental organizations and Colorado River users in Mexico who rely on the Colorado River Basin for water supply, hydropower generation, recreation and fish and wildlife habitat.
Currently, the 1,450-mile-long river and its tributaries provide water to approximately 30 million people living in and around the basin while irrigating almost 4 million acres of farmland, according to the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) website.
