ABSTRACT
DEBLER 08.01. 1885 Beatrice NE/USA 02.10. 1976 Denver CO/USA Erdman Bruno Debler received the BS degree in 1907 from University of Nebraska. After graduation he was employed by railroad companies in Illinois and Nebraska, and by private engineering firms. He joined in 1918 the US Bureau of Reclamation USBR, Denver CO. Starting as an instrument man, he rose to head the Bureau’s water resources and project investigation section. He was named in 1943 Director of Project Planning for the Bureau, and in 1944 became Director of the newly established Lower Missouri Region. He there was responsible for reclamation activities in Nebraska, Kansas, East Colorado, south-western Wyoming, and a portion of South Dakota, an area encompassing the southern half of the Missouri River Basin, the upper part of the Arkansas River Basin, and trans-mountain diversions from Colorado River to the Platte and Arkansas Basins. Debler was a known river engineer, contributing significantly to the development of water resources in the West. His 1949 paper describes the USBR policy relating to multi-purpose reservoirs. Upon passage of the 1902 Reclamation Act, the Reclamation service was organized as a branch of the US Geological Survey and so continued until 1904, when the Reclamation Service was established as an independent branch of the US Department of the Interior. The name of the agency was changed to the current USBR in 1923. The paper highlights the many achievements and future developments to be done, relating to irrigation, power, flood control, navigation and fish and wildlife. Upon retirement from the USBR in 1947, Debler was cited as having had ‘an enviable career’. His government had indeed encompassed more than 30 years. His name is engraved in a bronze tablet at Hoover Dam in commemoration of his contribution to its design and construction. He was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE from 1925, becoming Fellow ASCE in 1959. Anonymous (1929). Erdman B. Debler. New Reclamation Era 20(2): 31. P Anonymous (1977). Erdman B. Debler. Trans. ASCE 142: 562. Debler, E.B. (1930). Hydrology of the Boulder Canyon Reservoir. USBR: Denver. Debler, E.B. (1932). Final report on Middle Rio Grande investigations. USBR: Denver. Debler, E.B. (1949). Development of policy by the Bureau of Reclamation. Multipurpose reservoirs: A symposium. Proc. ASCE 75(3): 295-300. USBR (2008). USBR: History essays from the Centennial Symposium. USBR: Denver.
