Palmetto Bend Dam and Reservoir

The Palmetto Bend Dam and Reservior project at Jackson County, Texas, is designed to provide municipal and industrial water, fish and wildlife benefits, and recreational opportunites. The Bureau of Reclamation is responsible for its construction.

Since its authorization in 1968, the project's estimated cost has doubled, and additional cost is expected. The Bureau has not maintained records summarizing cost growth by inflation, engineering, scope, schedule, and changes in estimates. Also, the completion date for the project was advanced 27 months, from June 1977 to September 1979, because of a lack of funds to allow for an award for construction in 1972, the Bureau's decision not to award any new large contract for 1974, and an injunction halting construction during 1975. Authorization of the project was based on projections of population and industrial expansion which proved to be too optimistic. The project's development plan did not adequately consider all possible alternatives; the only alternative considered was financing the same project by private funds.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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