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.. Ji ~~ {\ COLoRADO WATER CON-SERVATION BOARD 102 Columbine Building 1845 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203 March, 1976 ANIMAS-LA PLATA PROJECT The Animas-La Plata project is located in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico in the San Juan River basin. The project was authorized by the Congress in 1968 under the provisions of the Colorado River Basin Project Act as a participating project of the Colorado River Storage Project. The Colorado River Basin Project Act authorized the Central Arizona Project and five projects in Colorado; to wit, Animas-La Plata, Dallas Creek, Dolores, San Miguel, and West Divide. Section 50l(b) of the act (Public Law 90-537) provides as follows: "The Secretary is directed to proceed as nearly as practicable with the construction of the Animas-La Plata, Dolores, Dallas Creek, West Divide, and San Miguel participating Federal reclama- tion projects concurrently with the construction of the Central Arizona Project, to the end that such projects shall be completed not later than the date of the first delivery of water from said Central Arizona Project: Provided, That an appropriate repayment contract for each of said participating projects shall have been executed as provided in section 4 of the Colorado River Storage Project Act (70 Stat. 107) before construction shall start on that particular project." The La Plata Water Conservancy District was organized in 1944 to act as the sponsoring and contractual agency for that portion of the project located in the state of Colorado. The district includes a portion of La Plata County. The Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian tribes are also project sponsors. Plan of Development The Animas-La Plata Project would serve as a multiple purpose water resource development. Municipal and industrial water would be furnished to the cities of Durango, Colorado, and Aztec and Farmington, New Mexico, and to surrounding communities and for the development of resources on the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservations. The project would also provide irrigation water primarily for lands in the La Plata River drainage and for some lands in the Mancos River drainage. Oppor- tunities would be made for recreational development and for fish and wildlife enhancement. The following paragraphs describe the recommended plan of develop- ment for the Animas-La Plata Project.