M. Camille Calimlim Touton
Commissioner, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
M. Camille Calimlim Touton was born in Quezon City, Philippines. She later moved to Nevada with her family. She earned an undergraduate degree in communication studies and a second undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. She earned a Master of Public Policy from George Mason University.
She worked for an engineering company in Las Vegas, then joined the office of Senator Harry Reid as a legislative correspondent. She later became a staffer for the U.S. House Committee on Natural resources. She joined the Department of the Interior, serving as a counselor to the assistant secretary for water and science and as deputy assistant secretary of water and science. She then became a staffer for members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. She was a senior staffer for the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
President Biden nominated Touton to be the commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. She was confirmed by the Senate and assumed her position in December 2021.
In the News…
‘Immediate action” is needed to avoid a water supply crisis next year because of the Colorado River’s depleted reservoirs, says the chief of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Camille Calimlim Touton.
The West’s megadrought has plunged the nation’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, to historic lows. “Between 2 million acre-feet and 4 million acre-feet of additional conservation is needed just to protect critical levels in 2023,” she said.
The commissioner told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee there is “so much to this that is unprecedented… but unprecedented is now the reality and the normal in which Reclamation must manage our systems.” She added, “The challenges we are seeing today are unlike anything we have seen in our history.”
Commissioner Touton said her bureau was undertaking short-term actions to prevent Lakes Mead and Powell from reaching “dead pool,” which is when water levels get so low they cannot flow past a dam. “This is the priority for us: between the next 60 days to figure out a plan to close that gap,” she said.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Commissioner Touton today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable M. Camille Calimlim Touton
Commissioner
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
1849 C St NW
Washington, DC 20240
