Washington ? The United States risks squandering billions of dollars if it does not adequately train Iraqis to run power plants, water treatment facilities and other projects built during the country’s reconstruction, according to a report released Sunday by government auditors.

The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction also renewed a caution issued three months ago that the United States could run out of money before completing its work because the government does not have a handle on how much it is spending.

U.S. agencies “must determine whether sufficient funds exist to complete the projects begun in Iraq and whether these projects include a sustainability plan that will provide the Iraqis with the tools and knowledge necessary to operate and maintain their new infrastructure,” the report concluded. “A failure on either of these points risks leaving little to show for billions in U.S. infrastructure investment.”

Congress authorized $18.4 billion for Iraq reconstruction in November 2003. Of that total, about 35 percent has been spent, with about 1,000 projects completed and about 1,000 under way.

Investigators are concerned, however, that there may not be enough trained Iraqis to keep facilities running once the Americans complete the initial work. For example, the Government Accountability Office reported last week that a power outage resulted when the United States overhauled a power plant and failed to teach Iraqis how to operate it. State Department spokeswoman Nancy Beck said the United States was focused on the problem, and would be devoting more funds to training Iraqis in maintenance and operation.

The inspector general’s office, which is monitoring reconstruction, will conduct audits to determine how well that training is working.

Another area auditors will look at is the government’s system for monitoring how much money it is spending in Iraq. The Project and Contracting Office, which oversees reconstruction, has been unable to produce comprehensive data on that, in part because of a lack of coordination. There are a dozen or more offices from six U.S. agencies involved in reconstruction, and “there is minimal, if any, integration among the various systems that these offices use to manage information on contracting, finance and projects,” Sunday’s report said.

Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Rose-Ann Lynch said in a statement that U.S. officials were already making “significant strides” in saving money and projecting future costs, but that the dangerous security environment in Iraq means officials have to be flexible.

The Pentagon controls about 70 percent of U.S. reconstruction funding, with the State Department and the Agency for International Development managing the rest. The Defense Department had initially estimated security would eat up $1.2 billion of its share of reconstruction funds, but recently pegged the number at $2 billion. The inspector general’s report said the costs are probably “much higher” than that.

With security costs eating away at budgets, some programs have been scrapped and others have received less funding than they need. Auditors reviewing a water treatment facility that had its funding cut found it would not increase the amount of available water, and would not improve water quality enough to make it potable.

The report did note progress in some areas. For instance, it said the number of trained Iraqi security personnel is at an all-time high of 169,812, a 48 percent jump from last December.