Bureau Of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation is a US federal agency within the Department of the Interior, responsible for the management and development of water resources in the western United States. Founded in 1902, the Bureau has historically constructed and managed dams, hydroelectric power plants, and water conveyance infrastructure — including hundreds of miles of underground tunnels — across the American West. It is identified in DUMB research as a potential cover organization for clandestine tunnel construction.
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Tunneling Operations
During the 20th century, the Bureau of Reclamation excavated hundreds of miles of tunnels, some up to 28.5 feet in diameter, at depths of hundreds to thousands of feet below the surface. The Bureau regularly employed tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and other excavation technologies to construct aqueducts, water diversion systems, and penstocks.
Alleged Clandestine Tunnel Use
Multiple informants to Richard Sauder have indicated that some Bureau of Reclamation tunnels in the American Southwest have been used as cover for clandestine secondary tunnel construction. The hypothetical mechanism, as Sauder describes it: a tunnel boring machine, operating legitimately within a Bureau aqueduct tunnel deep underground, could theoretically branch off to bore a secondary clandestine tunnel without detection. With approximately 10 men operating a TBM and the ability to bore up to 10–15 miles per year in good conditions, such secondary tunnels could connect distant classified facilities while remaining invisible to surface observers.
This theory is supported by the observation that the Bureau of Reclamation's network of long-distance, deep-running tunnels in the American Southwest geographically overlaps with the alleged network of underground facilities (DUMBs) in the same region — including near Dugway Proving Ground, Kirtland Air Force Base, Los Alamos, and China Lake.
Context in DUMB Construction Theory
UAP Gerb presents the Bureau of Reclamation hypothesis as one of the more plausible explanations for how an extensive network of covert tunnels could be constructed without generating the surface disruption (spoil disposal, equipment movement) that would otherwise be visible. The precedent for such concealment was noted in post-WWII Allied examinations of Nazi underground facilities: specifically, that excavated rock had been "carefully scattered into hills miles away," leaving no visible surface evidence of major underground construction.