ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS ANN M. BALL Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë STATUS OF INTERVIEWS: OPEN FOR RESEARCH Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Interviews Conducted by Donald B. Seney Interviews Edited by Donald B. Seney Layout of interviews by Brit Allan Storey Bureau of Reclamation Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Interviews conducted and edited–1995-1998 Interviews final edited and published–2009 Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Oral History Program Bureau of Reclamation Denver, Colorado SUGGESTED CITATION: BALL, ANN M., ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS. Transcript of tape-recorded Bureau of Reclamation Oral History Interviews conducted by Donald B. Seney, from1995 to 1998, in Carson City and Reno, Nevada. Edited by Donald B. Seney with final editing and layout by Brit Allan Storey. Repository for the record copy of the interview transcript is the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland. Record copies of this transcript are printed on 20 lb., 100% cotton, archival quality paper. All other copies are printed on normal duplicating paper. i Table of Contents Table of Contents.......................................... i Statement of Donation....................................xxx Introduction ...........................................xxxii Oral History Interviews.....................................1 Mother and Father Immigrated from Italy and Settled in Chicago 1 Attended Northwestern University........................3 “I never felt pressure to have good grades, I just always felt pressured to be good. .” ..................................3 “I remember that people were polarized . .and I remember being very confused because I never knew which camp I should be in, because I never felt that I had enough information . .” . 4 Worked During the Summer While in School ...............5 “At one point I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian, and that was the first time I think I came to grips with the idea that there were limitations on women. .” .........................6 Offered a Teaching Job in a Catholic School ................7 Decided to Move to Seattle ..............................7 Applied for and Received a National Science Foundation Grant for Women in Engineering and Science to Spend the Summer at Notre Dame Becoming Acquainted with Engineering.....8 Decided to Move into Engineering........................8 Went to the University of Utah and Received a Master’s Degree in Engineering .....................................9 M.A. Thesis Was on Arsenic Deposition from the Kennecott Copper Smelter on the West Side of the Salt Lake Valley.......10 Masters Took Three Years Because of Some Required Undergraduate Work..........................................11 Went to Work for Reclamation Part Time as an Engineering Technician While a Student........................11 Worked on Computerizing the Biannual Colorado River Salinity Oral history interviews of Ann M. Ball ii Report.........................................11 Sexism among Reclamation Engineers ....................11 Spent a Year Working on Thesis and Then Returned to Work Full Time at Reclamation .............................13 Worked on Operation of the Upper Colorado River..........14 Worked at the Weather Service Office for Three Months .....14 Worked on Standard Operating Procedures, Emergency Preparedness Plans, Operating Plans for the Colorado River, and the Water Management and Conservation Program..............15 Differences Between Reclamation and the Weather Service and How it Operated to Forecast Runoff ......................15 “. the job at the Weather Service was for three to four months a year, every year. .” .................................16 “That’s what I really loved. I loved the politics of the river. .” ..............................................16 “At this time it was just really having a job, having fun, making money, going skiing, having interesting work. .” ..............................................17 “And I did love the politics, I really loved the Colorado River Operations. .”.................................17 Liked the Process of Improving and Doing a Better Job of Management on the Colorado River ............................17 Chaired the Interagency Committee That Worked with the Weather Service........................................18 In 1983 and 1984 There Was Enormous Error in the Runoff Forecasts for the Colorado River............................18 Received a Lot of Recognition Because She Recommended a Position for Reclamation to Take...........................19 “. the Flood of ‘83 helped my career a lot! . .” ...........19 Started with Reclamation Part Time in 1979 and Full Time in 1980 ..............................................20 “Then all of a sudden I was on all these interagency committees. .” ..............................................20 Moved from the Upper Colorado Region to the Lower Colorado Region ........................................20 Had Two Children in Boulder City.......................22 Bureau of Reclamation History Program iii Works Long Days but Reserves Weekends for the Family .....24 Worked on Operating Plans in Boulder City................25 Each Year Reclamation Had to Make a Multitude of Decisions about Managing the Colorado River Based on the Runoff Forecast ..............................................26 The Number of Parties Reclamation Consulted with Grew over the Years .........................................26 Native American Consultation Expands...................26 Issues That Arose as Indian Water Rights Settlements Occurred 27 Adjusting to the Office in Boulder City Took a While ........27 Sought out Collateral Assignments .......................28 The Salt Lake City Office Was Lean and Mean in Comparison to the Boulder City Office ..............................29 Became an Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor .......30 Proposed a Way to Obtain Political Buy-in of the States for Management of the Colorado River..................31 Had to Stand up to Her Boss to Be Put on the Work Team for Colorado River Management...............................32 Needed to Learn More Details of the River Operations from Her Boss ..............................................33 Committee Met Regularly and the Process Was Very Interesting ..............................................34 Changing Operation of the Colorado River Did Not Occur as Quickly as Had Been Hoped ..............................36 “. it’s not so easy for them either, and our job now needs to become to make it easier for them to change. .”.............36 Working with Dennis Underwood, Director of the California River Commission....................................36 Dennis Underwood “. could see a bigger vision, he could see why it was important for all the seven states to be a little bit ahead of the curve. He saw that they weren’t ahead of the curve, then things would be forced on them. .”......................37 Having Dennis Underwood as Commissioner Was Helpful to Career ..............................................37 Once the Colorado River Management Committee Got Going it Consumed Virtually All Work Time.................37 Oral history interviews of Ann M. Ball iv Got off Runoff Forecasting Altogether ....................38 The Colorado River Work Group Still Exists ...............38 “But it kind of developed a life of its own and it continues on and on. I started losing interest when it started becoming repetitive . .” ..............................................38 Began Looking for a New Job in or Outside Reclamation .....39 “We had this new regional director, Ed Hallenback who was just so different than any other regional [director]. I mean, he was kind of this visionary, and he saw changes were in the wind, and he was taking action before any other region to accommodate change, and he was looking at the organization, trying to move things out into the field, really shaking up the establishment. .”.............................................39 “I mean, he came, and all his assistant RDs left. (laughs) . every so often he would just call me and say, ‘I need to do some brainstorming, Ann, and I’d like you to help me with it.’ . I mean, this was unheard of, it drove my boss crazy. because they were used to the hierarchy. .”.................39 Became an In-house Facilitator ..........................40 Applied for GS-13 Branch Chief Jobs ....................42 Becomes Branch Chief in 430–Operations and Maintenance . 42 “The challenge in that job . was [that it was] the first time I had to be a supervisor. .”................................43 “. three of the people that I supervised also applied for the same job. So I had to deal with that as well. .”................43 “. I think I’m able to figure people out, and to adapt how I relate to them to suit their needs. I don’t have ‘one size fits all’ approach. .”...........................................44 “One of the other guys I had was a real challenge. He was extremely bright, but he liked to do whatever he wanted to do, and he wouldn’t stay focused. .”........................44 An Engineer Hired to Do O&M Inspections Turned out to Be Claustrophobic ..................................44 “. my primary concern was not to make my problem somebody else’s problem, and to deal with my problem directly. .” ..............................................47 Bureau of Reclamation History Program v “. the primary consideration for me was getting the job done. The secondary consideration was helping the individual. .” . 47 Issues with the Yuma Desalting Plant.....................48 “We turned out to have more water in the system that was